In this piece, The Lug intern Charlotte Stobart considers the powerful use of oral histories in the BBC2 docuseries ‘AIDS: The Unheard Tapes’, drawing on work by Newcastle Oral History Collective Associate Wendy Rickard.
Continue readingCategory Archives: Reflection
Oral History and Memory Module (HIS2219) at Newcastle University
In this blog post, the Lug intern Charlotte Stobart outlines the form and structure of the second year Oral History and Memory module offered at Newcastle University, in conjunction with current module leader Dr Sarah Campbell.
Continue readingThe interaction between Narrative and Archive: The Lockerbie Disaster, Pan Am 103, and Syracuse University
In October 2022, NOHUC Researcher Andy Clark undertook a research and engagement trip to Syracuse University, New York. Along with Colin Atkinson, this was part of their British Academy funded project that conducted oral history interviews with first responders to the Lockerbie Disaster, 1988. In this Lug post, Andy reflects on engaging with victim communities in the United States, and how the materials held in the Pan Am 103 archive aligned with the narratives collected in his research.
Continue readingFrom a lively archive in Bangalore
In this Lug piece, PhD student Hannah James Louwerse offers some insights on her time researching in the Archives at the National Centre of Biological Sciences in Bangalore, and reflects on the workflows and processes which go into keeping an archive running smoothly.
Continue readingOral history and Ageing
In this blog post Graham Smith, Professor of Oral History at Newcastle, reviews the position of the University’s Oral History Collective in relation to ageing, ageism and intergenerational research.
Continue readingIndividual and family experiences of augmentative and alternative communication
In this Lug post, Ally Keane writes about her new doctoral research that is funded through the Northern Bridge doctoral training partnership. Ally will be using oral history to work with users of augmentative voice technologies and their families.
Continue readingThe Voices Of Stannington Sanatorium: Musings on Oral History and Creative Writing
In this Lug post, Dr Liz O’Donnell reflects on interviews that she conducted being reused and repurposed for a radio drama, considering the attachments that we as oral historians have to the data we collect.
Continue readingAuthenticity and authority? Changing memories of Holocaust resistance
How Oral History helped to disrupt the appropriation of the ‘White Rose’ resistance
This year’s [2022] Brundibár Arts Festival was opened by Silvie Fisch of the Oral History Collective. The annual festival is dedicated to the music and arts of the Holocaust. This year’s festival theme is inspirational women and Silvie spoke about the changing public history of Sophie Scholl. Here is an edited version of Silvie’s talk.
Continue readingDefend Memorial International
Graham Smith writes (31 December 2021), “Three days ago, the Russian courts ordered the liquidation of Memorial International. He argues “that banning Memorial should be condemned by all oral historians“.
Continue readingAnimals in store: the Book Trade and Animal Histories
Here, Sue Bradley finds some half-forgotten animals and resolves to listen out for more. Sue is a member of the Newcastle University Oral History Unit and Collective and a Research Associate on FIELD (Farm-level Interdisciplinary Approaches to Endemic Livestock Disease) in Newcastle University’s Centre for Rural Economy. Her article, ‘Hobday’s hands: recollections of touch in veterinary practice’ appeared in Oral History, vol 49, no 1, 2021.
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