Publications

Journal Articles:

This article examines an information cascade surrounding King Richard III of England that was created by a chain of communicative events in popular media. The discovery of his lost grave in 2012 and the subsequent identification of his scoliosis subjected Richard III to sustained media scrutiny in the years between the discovery and the reinterment of his remains. Channel 4’s 2014 Richard III: The New Evidence (TNE) proposed that Richard III’s physical fitness was impacted by an extravagant diet and excessive alcohol consumption in the last years of his life, misrepresenting studies undertaken by the University of Leicester to create a sensationalist narrative. The press then communicated TNE’s narrative through colloquial discourse, labelling Richard III a ‘drunk’ and a ‘glutton’. Using the historical reputation model, this paper reconstructs the information cascade and discusses its epistemological impact: the dissemination of stereotypes and misinformation and the harmful denial of disability.

https://doi.org/10.1080/13642529.2025.2480991

Olga Prokopis, ‘Presence and Presentism: Bringing Ourselves to Historical Research’, Axon: Creative Explorations Vol 15 No 1 July 2025

This paper argues that writers can and should bring their personal experiences to historical research, and that ‘motivational presentism’ can strengthen our understanding of and connection to history. While historians often view presentism as anachronistic, living with disability has shaped my research on how stereotypes are perpetuated by popular history and within historical cultures. The tabloid media coverage of King Richard III of England’s lost grave being discovered last decade inspired my current research on how William Shakespeare’s Richard III has informed the reputation of the historical King Richard III. This paper will discuss the relationship between history and fiction, the affective space in which our motivations dwell, and how my experiences with ableism brought about a new understanding of the latent prejudices in the construction of Richard III’s reputation.

http://doi.org/10.54375/001/xvvt3j1f7e

Press:

(quoted as Olga Hughes) in Colin Freeman, ‘The Rehabilitation of Ms. Enid Blyton’ The Lady, May 1st 2020, 22-25. Also published on Colin Freeman.

Presentations:

In this seminar I will discuss my research on ‘historical reputations’. Historical reputations are complex social constructions made up of historical representations that become dominant in public memory. I conceptualise this research as an area of historical inquiry that examines cultural influences on the creation of historical reputations. I also examine the epistemological impact of historical reputations on how we understand history. Informational agents such as popular historical writing, historical fiction, the media, and affective communities, all distribute and validate historical representations. I propose that the historiographies of historical persons be broadened to include these sources. In a historical reputation study, I examine why certain representations achieve dominance and reflect on possible identity connections between historical persons and their affective communities, the historical cultures they exist within, and the influence of cultural paradigms on reputations. I also consider the epistemological impact of the frequent dissemination of misinformation and stereotypes in historical reputations, and suggest that historians should actively combat toxic and harmful historical representations.