Mass Observation
Founding Mass Observation
Additional collections
Children's Millennium Diaries
The Mass Observation Archive specialises in material about everyday life in Britain. It contains papers generated by the original Mass Observation social research organisation (1937 to early 1950s) which were brought to the University of Sussex in 1970, and the Archive is now a charitable trust in the care of the University. The material is especially rich on life in Britain during the Second World War.
The new phase of Mass Observation, the Mass Observation Project, has been running since 1981 and specialises in autobiographical writing recording everyday life in Britain. Around 3000 people have written for the Project at some point in its lifetime, and the current active mailing list comprises some 400 people and is still recruiting volunteers. Subjects cover many aspect of Britain in the last two decades, from royal weddings and jubilees, to the problems of drugs, terrorism, and war - discussing the merits of Marks and Spencers and hairdressing on the way.
- Fiona Courage, University of Sussex. Photographs courtesy of Special Collections at the University of Sussex Library.
Collections
- Archive of Mass Observation, 1937-1967
- Charles Madge (1912-1996): poet and sociologist; co-founder of Mass Observation
- War-time Social Survey Papers, 1940-1941 (Mary Burns): Burns worked for the Survey
- Mass Observation Project: the new project, founded in 1981 to record everyday life
- Personal Collections: since 1981 the Mass Observation Archive has collected personal papers donated by individuals
- Children's Millennium Diaries: schoolchildren in Brighton and Hove kept a diary for one week in the year 2000
Links
- Mass Observation Archive: papers generated by the original Mass Observation organisation, and newer material collected continuously since 1981
- Madge Papers: papers of Charles Madge at the University of Sussex
- Humphrey Jennings: documentary film maker Jennings (1907-1950) was one of the founders of Mass Observation; his papers are held at the British Film Institute
- Centre for Life History Research: 'life stories' as a primary source for social, cultural and historical research (University of Sussex)
- BBC Video Nation: video diaries of everyday lives, inspired by Mass Observation, and available online
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