When: November 4, 2014, 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Where: Charlotte Frank Classroom (1203 HE)

Presenter(s): Lucy Robinson (University of Sussex, UK); Respondents: Philip Swan (Library), Daniel Margòcsy (History), and Jeff Allred (English)

How did past eras look and feel from the “worm’s-eye view” of their ordinary citizens? “Observing the Eighties” is a new JISC-funded Open Educational Resource that engages this question by collating source materials on everyday life in the UK in the 1980s from several British archives. Lucy Robinson, a co-creator of the resource, will discuss the development of the project and its pedagogical aims and implications. She will give special emphasis to the democratic spirit of the project in two major ways. First, the project sidesteps iconic figures and moments in favor of representing the experiences and concerns of ordinary people; second, it encourages a collaborative spirit on the part of today’s users, who create, rather than consume, narratives of the period as they navigate the site. Lucy’s presentation will be followed by brief responses from Philip Swan (Library), Dan Margòcsy (History), and Jeff Allred (English). 

Co-sponsored by the English and History Departments.