Mass Observation Project, 1981-2009
Explore the history of Britain through three turbulent decades, written by those living through it.
Winner of Best Reference Database 2020
- Library Journal
Mass Observation Project 1981-2009 provides digital access to a unique life-writing archive, capturing the everyday experiences, thoughts and opinions of people living through the turbulent final decades of the 20th century and the advent of the 21st century.
Writing in response to directives (questionnaires), hundreds of Mass Observers provide a unique insight into an extraordinary range of subjects, from the deeply personal (sex, family) to everyday life (shopping, holidays) to global affairs.
The unique nature and matchless depth of this material makes Mass Observation Project an invaluable resource for anyone teaching or researching British history of the last forty years.
Directives
- 9/11
- AIDS
- Body piercing and tattooing
- BSE
- Christmas
- Criminal Justice Act
- Death of Princess Diana
- Falklands War
- First Gulf War
- Gardening
- General elections
- Holidays
- Iraq War
- Millennium
- Morality and religion
- National Lottery
- Natural disasters
- NHS
- Railway strikes
- Royal weddings
- Security and crime
- University
Included in
Modules include
| Module | Summary | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Module I: 1980s |
This first module from the Mass Observation Project covers poignant events from the 1980’s, including the Royal Wedding of Charles and Diana, the Falklands War, and the AIDs crisis, as well as the daily lives of individuals from a range of social and economic backgrounds. |
1980-1989 |
| Module II: 1990s |
Module II of Mass Observation Project focuses on social and political events of the 1990s, including the Mad Cow epidemic, the death of Princess Diana, and the General Election. This module also has a strong emphasis on participants personal opinions and social lives, with respondents discussing personal relationships, health concerns, and issues of rising unemployment. |
1990-1999 |
| Module III: 2000s |
Module III has a strong emphasis on technological advancements and the changing means of communication that came with the new Millennium. Highlights within this module include the Millennium Diaries, the events of September 11th and Environmental concerns, as well as detailing the everyday lives, thoughts, and opinions of respondents. |
2000-2009 |
Key data
Period covered
Source archive
- The Mass Observation Archive, University of Sussex, Special Collections
- Current affairs
- The family
- The home
- Leisure
- Politics
- Society, culture and the media
- Work, finance and the economy
- Printed directives (questionnaires)
- Prose responses to directives typed and in manuscript
- Newspaper cuttings
- Photographs
- Leaflets and other ephemera
- Brian Lewis, McGill University
- Sian Nicholas, Aberystwyth University
- Jen Purcell, St Michael’s College, Vermont
- Lucy Robinson, University of Sussex
- James Vernon, University of California, Berkeley
- Great Britain, Republic of Ireland and Northern Irish Studies
- Sociology, Social History and Social Science
- Essays introducing and contextualising the Mass Observation Project
- Video interviews with leading academics, exploring the archival material
- Chronology of 1980s Britain, with links to documents
Collection insights
AM's Felix Barnes and Courtney Priday explore the vital role of primary sources in fostering information literacy and critical thinking. By examining archival material and using tools from metadata to contextual essays, AM collections empower users to critically evaluate historical sources, encouraging informed perspectives on the past and its relevance to today.
In an episode of Russell T. Davies’s new drama, It’s a Sin, the protagonists, a group of young gay men, cluster around the television in their battered but cheerful London flat. Crammed onto the sofa, they have obviously anticipated this moment. But what they are watching isn’t 1986’s latest, now nostalgic, primetime hit, but a new government advertisement.
Inspired by the recent news of the wedding of Princess Beatrice to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, I decided to dig into the newly published Mass Observation Project, to see what the mass observers of the 1980s had to say about another famous royal wedding, that of Prince Charles to Diana Spencer.
Reviews
Fascinating concept and collection
- Author: Gricel Dominguez
- Publisher: Library Journal
Best Databases | Best Reference 2020
- Author: Mahnaz Dar, Reference & Professional Reading Editor, LJ & School Library Journal
- Publisher: Library Journal
