Impact case study database

Talbot’s research [3.1 - 3.5] has generated accessible media, social media and educational content, including podcasts, social media events, schools outreach activities and radio and television programmes, and via multiple languages including Turkish, and Arabic. 1000s have listened to and watched Talbot’s public engagement activities, with the following benefits accruing to diverse groups: from school pupils to media content producers.

Creating compelling and accessible routes into Ottoman history in partnership with content producers

Talbot was one of only ten scholars selected for the prestigious BBC/AHRC New Generation Thinkers annual competition (" one of the AHRC’s major vehicles for engaging the public with the inspiring research taking place across the UK" [5.1a] Andrew Thompson quote; 5.1d] in 2018-19. Through public talks about British-Ottoman relations [3.1] and Ottoman responses to Mediterranean piracy [3.2] at 2 BBC Radio 3 Free Thinking Festivals (10 March 2018; 29–31 March 2019), his research reached substantial live and remote radio/catch-up audiences. His package, “The Ottoman Empire, Power and the Sea” [5.1b] for BBC Radio 3 (11 April 2019) was broadcast in the Essay slot which regularly attracts weekly listener figures of 100-150K [5.1c]. NGT content is highly valued on Radio 3 for the “ fresh perspectives to our cultural coverage" it brings, and producers are “ always looking for ways to integrate it" [5.1a Robyn Read quote ]. This has been true of Talbot’s work, which has featured in two episodes of the Free Thinking programme (3 times per week: 12 July and 17 November 2018); and on AHRC/NGT podcast platform, Hidden Histories, hosted by Helen Carr (1/12/2020), which has achieved total audiences of 30K between December 2020-present [5.1e].

Commercial media producers have also gained from Talbot’s “ ability to bring the past life with such intelligence, compassion and creativity” across a range of media. Kelly McPherson of Karga Seven Pictures learnt about Talbot’s maritime research through his podcasting and social media presence and invited him to appear as a subject specialist for the Netflix historical docu-drama Rise of Empires: Ottoman (6x60 min. eps: first released worldwide 24/1/2020) [5.2a]. So beneficial to the development and detail of the series was Talbot’s "unique ability to tell a story and to bring these historic figures and events to life in a way that made them relevant and exciting for a 21st century audience” [5.2b], that he was asked to serve as a series consultant (November 2018-January 2020). The series has proved “ extremely successful internationally... So much so, that we’re currently in the early stages of a second season”: Talbot is credited with being “ a key part of that success” [5.2b; 5.5 viewer tweets ]. Journalists have likewise benefitted from Talbot’s “ deep and independent knowledge… especially his capacity to provide a clear and plain explanation” in providing historical perspectives on contemporary Turkish political events: for example in interviews for Spain's daily newspaper El Mundo (Jan-Jun 2019 av. Daily circulation 116K): discussing Boris Johnson’s Turkish heritage (December 2019) [5.3].

Deepening engagement with Ottoman histories & sources via social media

Talbot’s skill in translating his scholarly research into accessible audio and social media content, has benefitted students and other educators, and members of the general public. As a long-standing producer and contributor of his own research to the Ottoman History Podcast [OHP], a bi-lingual (English/Turkish) podcast regularly reaching 9000+ track plays per episode across various platforms (Soundcloud, iTunes). Five undergraduate students benefitted from this expertise in developing their own podcasts, and being interviewed about their experiences in a ‘how-to podcast’ OHP episode, that gained more than 7000 separate trackplays (2018-19), while the student recordings have had more than 10,000 trackplays/downloads (both in year after release, 2018-19) [5.4].

A broad cross-section of twitter users from around the world have been motivated by Talbot’s use of his popular Twitter account (@michaeltalbotuk) to engage with his accessible Ottoman history content and educational activities, drawing on sources and approaches explored in Outputs 3.3 and 3.4. Beneficiaries of a week-long 'tweetorial’ in the early 20^th century Ottoman-Turkish alphabet (25-29/3/ 2020: more than 872 ‘likes’) included those who:

• were inspired to take their studies further, e.g. “ your tweets inspired me so much that I started studying Arabic again!” [5.5: Ozpinar, 29/3/20 ]

• to use the resources in lockdown home-schooling [5.5: Little Alice 26/3/20 ]

• and to develop bespoke classroom sessions for US middle school teaching [5.5: Antonio, 25 & 26/3/20 ]

Other beneficiaries reported that Talbot’s multilingual tweeting of his research-based content " add so much value" to Turkish-language Twitter, making it “ a more encouraging and interesting space” [5.5: Osterlund & Srinivasan, 14/5/20 ]

Brokering relations between professional organisations and local, national and international communities

Talbot’s expertise on British-Ottoman relations and 19^th and 20^th-century Palestine [3.1; 3.4] prompted an invitation to join the management council of the Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF: June 2018). In this capacity, Talbot’s abilities as an ambassador for the organisation are highly valued: “ Michael is key to our organisation’s development in Greenwich, and in understanding our own history, particularly in the colonial period”. He has been invaluable too, for making “ his colleagues in other institutions aware of the PEF as an archival resource, which we very much welcome” [5.6a]. The PEF has also benefitted from connections made through Talbot to international organisations; for example, through Talbot’s involvement in the Palestine-based educational and cultural charity, the A.M. Qattan Foundation’s ‘Palestine from Above’ project public symposium (Ramallah, Dec. 2019). PEF aerial photography archives were brought into new dialogues with the Foundation’s public partners in the very territories such material originally surveyed, as well as providing a first publication co-author credit for the two PGR students also involved [5.6b; 3.4].

Talbot has forged sustainable relationships between PEF and the university around teaching, scholarship and public engagement, of growing benefit to both organisations at several levels. These include two UG work placements; invaluable networking connections for two Greenwich PGR students; and public engagement activities, such as ‘The Archaeological Origins of Britain in Palestine’, a free artefact-handling event staged using PEF collections as part of the 2018 national humanities festival, Being Human. Attendees praised the event for enabling engagement with " real artefacts... and materials from the archive”, and “ showing new facts of a subject I know well” [5.4c].

Amplifying Ottoman histories and sources in the classroom and beyond

Talbot’s research has supported educational workshops for approx. 7 primary and secondary schools and FE colleges in greater London, Essex and Kent, based on methodologies for interpreting visual and ephemera sources; and themes of power, nationalism and identity expressed through them [3.3; 3.4; 3.5]. These workshops have increased staff and students’ engagement with Ottoman histories and historiographies; and opened up avenues for further learning through presentation of new sources and methodologies. At Our Lady’s Catholic Primary School (a single-form entry, voluntary-aided school in Dartford, Kent), 189 KS1-2 pupils and their class teachers, explored Ottoman history topics -- many for the first time -- through the prism of Dartford's 19^th and 20^th century migrant and industrial histories (October 2018). " The children learnt to think outside of the box and question the world and their place in it" as a result of this session; and teachers planned to use the resources provided in subsequent teaching [5.7a].

These workshops have also enabled transformative connections to be made by students with their existing curriculum of study; and to bolster academic confidence and aspirations. At the Newham Collegiate Sixth Form Centre, East Ham, Talbot’s session with 20 A level students using Output 3.5 fostered deeper engagement with the Ottoman topics already studied as part of their OCR curriculum. After the seminar students felt better able to see their topic from different angles and had acquired new analytical skills [5.7b]:

• “The talk truly opened my eyes to the complexity and nuances of Ottoman society and drew my focus towards the social aspect of the Empire, rather than exclusively researching its imperial nature”

• “this was the first time I have analysis [sic] a source with little contextual knowledge in such detaiI.”

Remarkably for a school in a borough ranked 3^rd nationally for childhood poverty, and with 88% of the student body from minority ethnic backgrounds, eight of these students subsequently applied to do History at university (a subject less commonly pursued by BAME students); of these, six received successful offers from Oxbridge colleges. All eight used examples explicitly drawn from the session in their personal statements: as the head of sixth form states, the workshop " clearly had a significant formative impact in their understanding of History as an academic discipline” [5.7b].

Since 2014 – when the UN Women Solidarity Movement for Gender Equality launched its HeforShe campaign (promoting the need for “ men and people of all genders to stand in solidarity with women to create a bold, visible and united force for gender equality”) – Eustance’s timely research has illuminated the historical role of such allies; and the importance of intersectional alliances in such activism to effect change, with the following impacts:

Improved stakeholder and public awareness and understanding of diversity in British gender equality campaigns, and stimulus to discover more.

As invited curator for the 2017 ‘Suffragettes in Trousers’ exhibition, Portcullis House (3.2), Eustance brought the seldom-discussed roles of male MPs and campaigners for women’s suffrage into view for parliamentary staff and MPs in a key public area of the parliamentary estate. The curators of the Vote100 engagement programme specifically benefitted from Eustance’s “ unique research and knowledge” on male allyship in suffrage campaigns (3.4), to develop the displays (5.1a). The exhibit also generated further new content and beneficiaries:

• BBC Parliament Channel used both research from the exhibit and Eustance in the documentary Suffragette Allies (30 mins: 1^st aired 11 February 2018; repeated 36 times across 2018-2019) (5.1b).

• The exhibit’s online legacy presence (2017-present) provides ongoing public access and creative interactions, e.g. as a ‘story starter’ prompt in the weekly magazine The People’s Friend (Nov. 20) (5.1c).

• BBC R4 ‘Women’s Hour’ (6 September 2018), and BBC R3 Sunday Feature (‘Judy Punches Up’ 22 November 2019), both featured Eustance discussing ‘Suffragettes in Trousers’ research.

A broad range of specialist and public groups have engaged with this research through the extensive programme of c.20 talks by Eustance across 2017-19. Five invited presentations to diverse audiences in 2018 – including DEFRA women’s network (‘serving to ‘promote gender equality and to empower/enable women to thrive at their workplace’), Chevening fellows from 31 different countries and U3A members – were attended by approx. 400 people in total. Feedback (10% of overall audience) shows substantive change in knowledge and understanding stemming from participation (5.2):

• **41%**respondents indicated limited or no prior knowledge of subject matter before the event.

• 92% recorded knowledge and understanding gains after the event.

• 61% specifically acknowledged greater historical awareness after the event.

Others spoke of their desire to research further: “ You have wheted [sic] my appetite to find out more about men’s involvement” (5.2: BL33)

This desire to learn more inspired one participant to pursue her academic studies further, “ an ambition [she] held for many years”. Now enrolled on a PhD with Eustance at Greenwich exploring Greenwich suffrage campaigns, there have been positive wellbeing, as well as intellectual benefits: “ *as the years passed my confidence diminished. [ Eustance’s] support gave me the impetus to apply. That confidence has grown and been sustained.*” (5.3).

Deeper understanding of contemporary gender equality issues and stimulus to participate in initiatives supporting gender equality

Attendees registered increased awareness of the resonance of these historic campaigns with contemporary gender equality issues, and the factors that continue to act as barriers to gender equality:

• “It would be interesting to compare this with current fights for women’s rights.” (5.2:CH3)

• “[there are] Echoes of the value of male support for issue [sic] like FGM and forced

marriage.” (5.2:NA1)

• “Fighting for women’s rights is not a matter for women only.” **(5.2: CH12 )

• “it’s still necessary for us to have events like this specifically about women’s issues…

otherwise they…still tend to get buried” (5.2:BL31)

There was also increased understanding of, and willingness to participate in contemporary campaigns for gender equality:

• “it is in my interest as a man to push gender equality as a vital component of

*development and society.*” (5.2:CH9)

• “*I will look for opportunities to raise issues about gender equality in trade policy.*”

(5.2: DEFRA1)

Amplifying community histories and personal connections to equality campaigns

Through the Greenwich100: Beyond the Suffragettes mobile exhibition, staged across 12 distinctive venues across London, Greenwich, Lewisham and Kent associated public lectures and online resources in association with Greenwich Council and RGHT (3.3), Eustance amplified the local histories of women and men involved in groups like the Women’s Freedom League, on both sides of 19^th and 20^th century suffrage campaigns, (3.4, 3.5).

Visitors ranged from regular library users and parishioners, to one-off international tourists (5.5a). No visitor numbers were recorded for the library venues, although Woolwich Library is one of Britain’s busiest, while Severndroog Castle had 237 visitors during the 3 weeks of the exhibit (5.5b). The complementary public talks (May-November 2018) were attended by approx. 500 people.

The focus on local activism and activists led to audience impacts grounded in an enhanced sense of local identity and personal connections to the histories depicted. These included: “ surprise” and civic pride at the extent of local participation: “ I didn’t think there were such forward-thinking women on the estate” ( 5.5b; 5.4:BtSE55); and finding it “ empowering” (5.4:BtSE76. Others shared their increased positivity about the potential for change: *“[it] feels like we might finally being [sic] taken seriously by the big decision makers and change is coming.*” (5.4:BtSE70).

Building local & national audiences and programming through collaboration

Five national and local organisations benefitted operationally from collaborating with Eustance on the two exhibitions. The co-curators of the Houses of Parliament 2018 Voice and Vote immersive exhibition used materials from Eustance’s 2017 exhibit in their own. The success of Voice and Vote (visited by over 107,000 people) was dependent on “ *the audience based [sic] developed by the Vote100 outputs prior to 2018, of which Dr Eustance’s ‘Suffragettes in Trousers’ outputs were a key part.*” (5.1a)

Similar benefits accrued to local heritage and amenity partners staging the Greenwich100 exhibit. For the RGHT “ Raising the profile of the Trust’s works is paramount to its survival” , so being a partner in the project enabled it “to tap into and engage with new audiences and take our stories and collections to areas we don’t always reach”. At Severndroog Castle “ This was the first exhibition of its kind … it has proved to us that free standing displays are workable in the small display space”. At Woolwich Library the exhibit and two events for schools “ made International National Women’s Day [2018] – a success”, providing clear pathways to “ more incredible events to be hosted at Woolwich”, while at St Alfege the exhibit provided extra content to engage visitors across Open Heritage weekends (Sept.2018). (5.5a, b, c, d).

Developing new learning resources and creative interactions with Key Stage 2 to university students around equality, diversity and citizenship

The Historical Association and Association for Citizenship Teaching have capitalised on Eustance’s expertise, producing two podcasts (drawing on 3.1, 3.2, 3.4 and 3.5), as part of the free-to-access Women’s Suffrage: History and Citizenship Resources for Schools (launched November 2018). Although there are only partial Google Analytics data for track plays of each for Nov. 2018-19, & evaluation of the whole resource by Oxford University has been delayed by Covid, it is reasonable to assume the resources have been consulted as least as much during periods of lockdown home schooling across 2020. (5.8)

An interactive workshop based on the themes of the Greenwich100 exhibition, exploring aspects of citizenship (part of the mandatory ‘British Values’ curriculum focus) was also delivered to 150 KS2 primary pupils from Meridian Primary School, Greenwich and St Peter’s Primary School, Woolwich. Both schools are in a borough where 20% of residents live in neighbourhoods ranked amongst the most deprived in England (English Indices of Deprivation, 2019), with ethnically diverse student bodies. Pupils benefitted from accessing research about local male, BAME and working-class participation in suffrage campaigns through drama readings and mini quizzes, and engaged creatively with the ways such activism was delivered, via poster, banner and badge-making: resources and activities which teachers felt could be reused in subsequent teaching around these topics (5.6a). Five Greenwich UG drama students who worked with Eustance on the rehearsed readings for these workshops discovered “ a whole new face of theatre and of audience involvement” in working with the children: “ Performing our piece for the children was … a very new, but incredibly beneficial experience”. (5.6b)

Participants in schools’ workshops based on Eustance’s research around the Women’s Freedom League and ‘Suffragettes in Trousers’ have used their newfound knowledge in rewarding ways. After one such workshop at Bromley High School (Girls’ Day School Trust secondary) a VIth Form student consulted further with Eustance to develop her entry for the Historical Association’s 2018 Great Debate for 16-19 year-olds, on the question ‘Was the 1918 extension of the franchise the most significant moment in British democratic history?’. The student subsequently won both her heat and the national final (5.7, 5.9).