Research

We are an interdisciplinary group of historians committed to an engaged approach to the global past.

In the 2021 REF exercise 100% of our research was classified as 4* and 3* for Research Environment. We had a 24% increase in 4* research across our outputs, impact, and environment since the last REF. We place particular emphasis on addressing historical injustices through our work on the Holocaust; medical racism; slavery; and colonial and postcolonial violence. From the far right to climate change, health care, religious intolerance and knife crime, we pride ourselves on using historical research to inform key contemporary debates.

Our research centres and research clusters have supported exciting collaborations, successful funding bids, and postgraduate studentships. We have particular strengths in medieval and early modern history, histories of slavery, medicine, and women and gender, animal and environmental histories, transnational histories, urban history, histories of religion and archival studies. Our research also contributes to the University’s major research priorities, including through the Centre for Health, Medical and Environmental Humanities and our work on the Heritage and Slavery and Unfree Labour research themes.

We have a strong commitment to the development of postgraduates and postdoctoral researchers, who play an important role in our research community.