Mass-Observation

Text, Context and Analysis of the Pioneering Pamphlet and Movement

Jennifer J. Purcell

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN: 9781350226470
• eBook ISBN: 9781350226494
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Modern British History
• Index: History

This book reproduces the original 1937 founding pamphlet of Mass-Observation – the compelling social research project that ran for decades in the mid-20th century – with expert commentary throughout. It also features brand new supporting essays by and informative interviews with prominent scholars of Mass-Observation which reflect on the organisation, its origins and its influence on multiple academic disciplines, including history, sociology and anthropology. An introductory essay by the editor synthesizes the arguments of this material, as well as contributing vital historical context and suggestions for ways in which other disciplines might benefit from the use of Mass-Observation approaches and archival material. There is also a chronology of Mass-Observation, its publications and major figures associated with it. Mass-Observation offers an unparalleled wealth of insights into the lived experiences of Britons in the 20th century and this volume provides the best introduction to it available, familiarizing you with both the original Mass-Observation aims and what value this fascinating material carries for us today.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle Page
• Title Page
• Contents
• List of illustrations
• List of contributors
• List of chronology
• Introduction
• 1 ‘The Observation by Everyone of Everyone’: The project of Mass-Observation in 1937
• 2 Mass-Observation
• 3 Uncivilizing sociology: How Mass Observation can free the discipline
• 4 Voices from the archive
• Bibliography
• Index
• Imprint