Knowledge exchange
Innovation in the context of our work in the faculty is understood to involve active engagement with a range of different stakeholders 'beyond the Ivory Tower'.
Individually and collectively we participate in a wide range of knowledge exchange activities, communicating the results of our research to audiences beyond the university sector, sharing our expertise with schools and the local community, and collaborating with museums, theatres, libraries, cinemas and local businesses.
Recent examples of activity
The King James Project
In collaboration with Museums Sheffield and Sheffield Cathedral, the Department of Biblical Studies has provided exhibition resources and interactive DVDs for numerous English cathedrals celebrating the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible.
Björk's "Biophilia"
Dr Nikki Dibben’s collaboration with Icelandic pop star Björk documenting her forthcoming album, app suite, live show and music school, exploring the meeting point of music, nature, science and new technology.
Audience experience of classical concerts
Dr Stephanie Pitts has carried out a range of knowledge exchange projects with local arts organisations, looking at the experience of new audience members at Music in the Round, and of established concert-goers with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Her work has been funded by a Yorkshire Forward Business Link grant and by the University of Sheffield's KT Rapid Response Fund, and has been carried out with a team of researchers including PhD graduates of the music and psychology departments, Dr Melissa Dobson and Dr Kate Gee.
Sheffield Performer and Audience Research Centre
Implicit Bias and Philosophy
Professor Jennifer Saul is the Director of the Leverhulme-funded Implicit Bias Project. Unconscious biases against members of stigmatised groups have been studied by psychologists for decades, but only recently have philosophers explored this phenomenon. This project brings researchers from both fields together with policy professionals to work through the implications.
Implicit Bias and Philosophy Project
Democratic enfranchisement
Dr Daniel Viehoff's project deals with the issue of 'democratic enfranchisement’ - generally, who should be granted voting rights in a democracy, and who need not be. There are clearly some important (and politically contentious) issues involved here: For instance, should prisoners be allowed to vote? (Currently the UK has a general ban on inmate voting; but most other European countries don't, and the European Court of Human Rights decided recently that the UK ban is illegal.) Should ex-prisoners be allowed to vote? (They are here, but not in most of the US.) How about foreigners/immigrants - under what conditions should they be permitted a say in the making of our laws? How about expats, who still hold UK citizenship, but no longer spend much (or even any) time here? Overall, what are the general standards that should guide our thinking about these matters?
Displaying Drink 1650-1850
This collaboration with Museums Sheffield lead to an exhibition in the Metalwork Gallery at the Millennium Galleries in Sheffield in 2008.
The Old Bailey Online project
This has made available to the public the proceedings of the Old Bailey criminal court between 1674 and 1913. The website has received some 15 million hits since it was launched in 2003, and has become an invaluable resource for family and local historians.
The Virtual Re-presentation project
This project used computing techniques to recreate historical locations which no longer exist, for example Benjamin Huntsman's
Attercliffe Works (the place where crucible steelmaking was discovered in Sheffield).
Benjamin Huntsman's Attercliffe Works
Conisborough Manorial Court records
The transcription and digitisation of selected Conisborough Manorial Court records, working in partnership with Conisborough Historical Society and Doncaster Borough Council.
Showroom cinema talks
Talks at the Showroom cinema, Sheffield, on films of historical interest.
Public lectures
Public lectures both within Britain and around the world, including at the National Army Museum in London, the Université Catholique de Lille, and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library in New York.
Media work
Media work, including appearances on BBC Radio 4, UK History, Sky 1, articles for the The Guardian, Times Literary Supplement, History Today, BBC History Magazine, Der Tagesspiegel, and the Süddeutsche Zeitung.
Local schools
Talks to students at local schools, and to a seminar for state school teachers about the teaching of history.