Our Impact

English Literature and Language

Groes and Byrne work together with an international multidisciplinary team on the AHRC-funded research project Novel Perceptions. This research is asscociated with research undertaken by Groes and Byrne for the BBC engagement project The Novels That Shaped Our World, - a project that asks the public in Great Britain and beyond to debate a selection of 100 novels that have impacted upon the nation since Robinson Crusoe, 300 years ago.     

Research by Groes, Francis, Byrne, and Blower has impacted positively on the national and international visibility, reputation and reach of the Black Country's fascinating socio-cultural complexities. Through collaborations with cultural, commercial and media partners, libraries, and festivals, we have established a nationwide network for readers, writers, publishers and cultural organisations, which has resulted in improvements to the visitor experience of cultural institutions whilst (in)directly benefiting regional economic prosperity. The research has contributed to a transformative cultural renaissance that helps push the region towards a reinvigorated, more prosperous future.  The Impact Case Study, ‘Writing the Black Country: Changing Perceptions’, emerges directly out of our contribution to and creation of networks and the positive contributions these have made to public perceptions, well-being, and prosperity both within the region and beyond.

Black’s research and its performance applications benefit not only the general public, but also museum curators, women’s groups, churches and congregations, and comprises the focus of the Impact Case Study, ‘Performing Medieval Gender: A Storytelling Project’.

Area Studies

We are committed to using a variety of pathways to disseminate research outputs in national and international forums with a view to address the needs of specific stakeholders and for the betterment of society more generally.  Key beneficiaries of Area Studies research have included four main groups: vulnerable people seeking protection against caste discrimination, human rights activists lobbying for policy change, EU immigrants facing deportation, and members of the public seeking a better grasp of the means to address discrimination and prejudice linked to the axes of race, caste, gender, disability, religion and nationality.

Dhanda and Takhar present their research to All Party Parliamentary Groups (APPG) and charities campaigning for changes in public policy. They are invited as expert consultants for widely disseminated public interest documentaries (e.g. BBC) in their respective research foci of caste discrimination and Sikh Studies.