Dear All,

Just before Christmas I went to an organising meeting for the Oral 
History Society's 2008 Annual Conference. It will be held in Birmingham 
(UK) on July 4-5, and is entitled "WHO CARED? ORAL HISTORY, CARING, 
HEALTH AND ILLNESS". There is a huge opportunity here for service users, 
former service users, staff, and families and friends. Specifically, I 
am wondering who might be interested in helping to put together a 
presentation  on the consequences and effects of closure and the threat 
of closure. Not only would the paper be presented at the conference 
(hoepfully by someone who can speak from the authority of having gone 
through it), but it could be recorded and made more widely available 
that way, and would have a strong likelihood of being published in the 
Oral History Society's journal. The hidden and uncomfortable issues and 
consequences of closure would be opened up.

What would be needed? People to take part. We would need to collect life 
stories (how we came to be involved with a therapeutic environment), 
gather experiences of closure or threat of closure, and then work to 
draw out the themes and lessons. Some could be written, some could be 
audio-recorded, some could be video-recorded. Some could be 
face-to-face, and some could be over the telephone.

The deadline for the submission of a proposal for a paper is January 
18th, although we might be able to stretch that a bit. That would then 
give four to five months to gather one anothers' stories. Along the way, 
the stories and work could potentially contribute to the work of 
supporting therapeutic communities under stress. Please get in touch if 
you, or someone you know, would be willing to help.

Below is the Call for Papers. You will see that there is a huge 
opportunity for therapeutic communities  to develop a number of 
different Voices.  There is not likely to be a conference like it again 
- so accessible to therapeutic communities of various kinds - for some 
time, and it would be good to take full advantage of it. If I can help 
people in any way with other ideas, subjects or approaches for 
presentations, I would be happy to give it a shot.

all the best, and many thanks, and happy new year,

Craig

CALL FOR PAPERS. 2008 Oral History Society Conference

2008 Oral History Society Annual Conference
University of Birmingham
4th - 5th July 2008

WHO CARED? ORAL HISTORY, CARING, HEALTH AND ILLNESS: Marking 60 years of 
the National Health Service

Oral History Society Annual Conference, in association with the Centre 
for the History of Medicine, University of Birmingham, to be held at the 
University of Birmingham.

We are keen to encourage presentations from those using oral history in 
understanding health care relationships in the histories of medicine; 
illness; well-being; disability; and planned environments.

We particularly welcome papers that further our understanding of the 
experience of formal and informal caring in community and institutional 
settings and amongst professionals, the cared for, carers and kin. Our 
themes will include:
* Witnessing the impact of, and challenges to, medical knowledges;
* hidden histories of organisational change and development
* the NHS and its global workforce
* power, humour, emotion, loss, resistance and changes in care 
relationships;
* the making of 'expert patients'
* emerging counter-knowledges and complementary and alternative therapies
* the health/social care interface

We are also keen to encourage papers using oral history within the 
following topic areas:

1.      Migration and ethnicity

2.      History of disability

3.      Mental health (including old age psychiatry

4.      Institutions, hierarchy and boundaries, including planned 
environment and therapeutic communities

5.      International use of oral history in palliative care

6.      Medical professionalization - professional boundaries/groups

7.      Experience of institutional closure

8.      Public history and the presentation of oral history

Abstracts (200 words) should be submitted by 18 January 2008
To: Belinda Waterman, Department of History, University of Essex, 
Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ.
Email: [log in to unmask]



-- 
Dr. Craig Fees, RMSA
Honorary Director, 
Institute for the History and Work of Therapeutic Environments
   "A research and study centre of the University of Birmingham
   Hosted by the Planned Environment Therapy Trust"
Planned Environment Therapy Trust Archive and Study Centre
Church Lane
Toddington near Cheltenham
Glos. GL54 5DQ
United Kingdom

01242 620125
http://www.ihwte.org.uk