On 26 August 2010 12:13, MOCO Project
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On Sunday the 12th of September the MOCO Project will host another Mass Observation inspired submission drive, following the high interest in
our August ‘A Day in Your Life’ diary day.
We now invite community group members to become Mass Observers for the day, in the spirit of the original Mass Observation team.
Observe life around you
As an observer, you go to a place that has meaning to you and your community and write down what is happening there while you visit and the feelings
you have while you are there.
We suggest going to a local café or community space, the park, the high street or any other place that you can think of. Breath in the atmosphere, hear the sounds and describe them to others.
Read more about making Observations.
Write your own diary
Diaries continue to be a popular part of the MOCO Project and have been a large part of the historical Mass Observation Archive. We continue to encourage people to write a day diary, take photographs or make a video on September 12th.
Read more about submitting a Diary.
Historical Background
Observations have been a central part of Mass Observation since it started in the 1930s. Observers were members of staff that
were sent out to record daily life as it went on around them. Sometimes these observations took the form of subjective narratives, at other times meticulously gathered statistics. They went to meetings, to the shops and stood on street corners listening for passing conversations. Here you can see examples from the historic MO Observations.
Diary collecting started in 1937 when Mass Observation called for people from all parts of the UK to record everything they did and thought from when they woke up
in the morning to when they went to sleep at night on 12th May. As it happened 12th May 1937 was the day of George VI’s Coronation and many people wrote about
being involved in this national event. The resulting diaries provide a wonderful glimpse into the everyday lives of all sorts of people in the late 1930s. Read more
about MO diaries.
Mass Observation Communities Online Project (MOCO) is expanding upon this tradition by asking community groups to participate in a nation-wide initiative.
With participation across the country, we are aiming to create a national archive of written and photographic accounts that will reflect a day in the
life, not only of individuals across the UK, but also of the members of your specific communities.This will result in a valuable record of your community or organisation that each group will be able to keep. The submissions will also be displayed on the MOCO online archive and donated to the historic Mass Observation Archive.
If you would like to learn more about the how to complete the tasks or you wish to make a submission (on or after September 12th), please visit our event page.
Best Wishes,
The MOCO Team
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Mass Observation Communities Online (MOCO)
A JISC funded project
Centre for Community Engagement
and The Mass Observation Archive
University of Sussex
www.mocoproject.org.uk
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Tel: 01273 877 657
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