A number of proposals have been put forward in recent years by historians in both the British and American academies for increasing the audience for academic history. In part this is due to the significant reduction in support for history programmes in both countries since the 2008 financial crisis. Absent from those proposals, however, is a call to use the popular interest generated by programmes such as Downton Abbey to foster an appreciation for academic history outside the university. Drawing on theories of fan culture developed within media and cultural studies, this article argues for the compatibility of academic history and communities created by fans. It discusses my experience of using Downton Abbey to lecture on the pre-First World War British voting system, utilising the biographies of the show's characters to demonstrate the ways in which British voting was far more restricted in practice than it seemed. The article argues that even those committed to the most traditional forms of academic history can take advantage of opportunities presented by shows like Downton Abbey. It then explores the connections between this method of public engagement and Judith Butler's arguments in Undoing Gender, which examine how conditions for recognition and communication across ideological and cultural divisions can be created.
