Continuing our discussion of marked and unmarked, I wanted to draw the classes attention to the work of Mass Observation, a British archive, founded by a group of anthropologists, poets and documentary film-makers in the 1930s to create an archive of every day life in the United Kingdom. Exploiting anthropological methodologies of hanging out and being there, as well as their own skills with photography and film-making, the members of Mass Observation created an invaluable documentary record about the life of the non-studied, and non-reported. As well as conducting surveys and studies of their own, they co-opted hundreds of everyday Britons to keep diaries and submit commentaries, compiling valuable archives about the everyday experiences of World War II, the crisis around the abdication of Edward VIII, British humour, thoughts on the royal family and so on. Their work continues into the present day and they continue to maintain a network of mass observors who respond to regular directives on topical themes such as responses to Princess Diana's death, thoughts about climate change and so on.
A comprehensive history and digital archive can be accessed through the website:
http://www.massobs.org.uk/index.htm
Can anyone else think of other archives that specifically focus on the everyday, and often overlooked?
Comments (1)
For an interesting New Yorker essay about the Mass Observation movement -- published, I think not coincidentally, on September 11, 2006 -- go here.
Posted by Robin Nagle | September 18, 2007 2:37 PM
Posted on September 18, 2007 14:37