History at Leicester

Research centres

The School is home to three internationally-known research centres (Regional and Local History, Stanley Burton Centre and Urban History). Staff in the School are also heavily involved in two multidisciplinary research centres (American Studies and the Medieval Research Centre).

Centre for Regional and Local History

Formerly the Centre for English Local History, the Centre for Regional and Local History is devoted to the study of local histories across England and Wales, and comparatively around the world. Established in 1948, it is the only specifically postgraduate research centre of its kind in the UK and has an international reputation for its teaching and research. The research expertise in the Centre is varied and wide-ranging, staff are often successful in receiving research grants from funding bodies including the AHRC, ESRC, Leverhulme Trust and the Marc Fitch Fund.

Centre for Urban History

The Centre for Urban History was founded in 1985 and has established itself as a major international centre for interdisciplinary research and graduate teaching. The Centre has a strong publishing record and the leading European journal Urban History is edited by Centre staff. The Centre is also home to the East Midlands Oral History Archive (EMOHA) which holds an archive of oral history recording from the local area. EMOHA are involved in a number of projects across the East Midlands and are continuously adding to their collection of interviews.

East Midlands Oral History Archive

The East Midlands Oral History Archive was originally funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund to establish the first large-scale archive of oral history recordings for Leicestershire and Rutland. This includes the collections of the former Leicester Oral History Archive, the Mantle archive from North West Leicestershire, the Community History archive of Leicester City Libraries, the Market Harborough Museum collection, and the sound archive of BBC Radio Leicester, along with smaller collections donated by local organisations or individuals. EMOHA is based in the Centre for Urban History at the University of Leicester and is also supported by Leicestershire County Council and Leicester City Council via the Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester & Rutland.

Stanley Burton Centre for Holocaust and Genocide Studies

The Stanley Burton Centre for Holocaust and Genocide Studies was founded in 1990 and is the oldest Holocaust research centre in the UK. The centre is based within the School of Historical Studies and has active collaborations with staff within the Colleges of Arts, Humanities and Law and Social Sciences. The activities sponsored by the Centre involved a programme of research into subjects relates to the Holocaust: and active outreach programme; the annual Aubrey Newman Lecture; an annual international workshop; and a dedicated Holocaust Resources room open to students and the wider public.

Centre for American Studies

The Centre for American Studies was founded in 1997, and combines teaching and research expertise from staff from History, Politics, English, History of Art and Film, Creative Writing and Modern Languages. The Centre’s motto is ‘Declare your Independence’. This motto is appropriate for two reasons. The first is that the gaining and exercise of independence is a major theme in the American history, literature, politics and culture studied at Leicester. The second (and more important) reason is that by choosing American Studies you are declaring your independence from the academic mainstream. We believe that the best way to understand a subject is to apply a variety of disciplines as tools to develop a multifaceted perspective.

Learn more about the Centre for American Studies.
 

Medieval Research Centre

The Medieval Research Centre was established in 1996 to co-ordinate the interdisciplinary research and teaching in medieval subjects across the College of Arts, Humanities and Law. There are more than 20 research-active members of the Centre, with research interests in fields ranging from late antique archaeology to the visual culture of the sixteenth century, who regularly attract research grant income from a range of funding bodies.

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