University of Birmingham Student (Alumni) Papers: Papers of Hazel Chowcat nee Downing

Papers of Hazel Chowcat, nee Downing, consisting of course handouts and circulars issued to postgraduate members of the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies during her time as a PhD student there in the late 1970s, including papers setting out and discussing the Centre's aims and work during that period. There are also substantial research and teaching papers produced by 'sub groups' of the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies including presentations and other papers of the Art Group, Family/School Group, History Group, Race and Politics group, Women's Studies and Women and Fascism group, Work group, Popular Memory group, English Studies group, Media group, and State group

Hazel Downing was born on 5th September 1950 in Bristol. After taking a diploma for linguists in commerce and industry at Holborn College of Law, Languages and Commerce, she studied for a BA in Interdisciplinary Human Studies at the University of Bradford, graduating in 1977. She then carried out research for her PhD thesis 'Developments in Secretarial Labour: Office Automation and the Transformation of Patriarchal Relations of Control', at the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies at the University of Birmingham between 1977 and 1980. Before her first degree she worked as a secretary and translator in Switzerland and Germany, and after completing her PhD she was a Research Fellow in the New Technology Research Group at the University of Southampton monitoring the impact of new technology on BT telephone engineers, carrying out research into other new technology developments such as robotics. She also taught undergraduate and adult education classes. Between 1983 and 1985 she was a Research Assistant at Orion Royal Bank in London, and then joined the National Communications Union, first as a Research Officer and then as National Women's Officer from 1988 to 1992. She was also Assistant Secretary between 1988 and 1993. During the 1990s she worked part time in management roles for the Neurological Alliance, Relate, and Mediation for Families. She has been an arbitrator for the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) since 1999, and between 2001 and 2003 she was a mentor at Kettlethorpe High School in Wakefield, working with bright but underachieving students. Between 2006 and 2011 she was an elected member of Wakefield Metropolitan District Council, and was Parish Clerk of Denby Dale Parish Council between 2007 and 2011. Voluntary work has included serving as school governor, parish councillor, and magistrate

Open, access to all registered researchers

Presented by Hazel Chowcat per Kieran Connell, May 2013

Please see https://calmview.bham.ac.uk/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=XUSS78&pos=1 for more information

Catalogued by Kieran Connell, July 2013, as part of AHRC funded project 'The Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies: connected collaboration, connected communities and connected impact. Description prepared in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; and National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997

Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Director, Cadbury Research Library: Special Collections (email: special-collections@contacts.bham.ac.uk). Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. The Cadbury Research Library: Special Collections will assist where possible with identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material.

Special Collections holds research papers of other former members of staff of the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies as well as a small departmental archive of the Centre. Please contact Special Collections for further information