| Mass Observation |
Article Index for Mass |
Information AboutMass Observation |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT MASS-OBSERVATION | |
| anthropology | |
| sociology | |
| public opinion | |
| british culture | |
| demographics of the united kingdom | |
| history of bolton | |
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Mass-Observation aimed to record everyday life in Britain through a panel of around 500 untrained volunteer observers who either maintained diaries, or replied to open-ended questionnaires on a regular basis. They also paid investigators to record people's conversation and behaviour at work, on the street and at various public occasions including public meetings, and Sport ing and Religious events. The early prime movers behind Mass Observation were anthropologist and Graham Bell (both painters), Julian Trevelyan (collagist), and Humphrey Spender , a photographer. The original work ended after criticism from academics that such subjective work lacked validity. Changes in attitudes led to its relaunch in 1981. Today Mass Observation continues to collect the thoughts of its panel of writers through regular questionnaires (known as directives) and is regularly used by students, academics, media researchers and the public for its unique collection of material on everyday life in Britain. PUBLICATIONS A number of publications are also available from the University. The following selection of titles also gives some idea of the scope of Mass-Observation's work:
In 2004 , ''Our Hidden Lives'', an edited selection of the diaries kept by five of these observers and diarists during the Post-war period, was published.
A history of the Mass Observation movement from a former Research Fellow at the Mass-Observation Archive, University of Sussex, UK (from back cover) EXTERNAL LINKS SEE ALSO |
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