Category: Uncategorized

Tuam Tragedy

In 2014 Catherine Corless discovered that 798 babies and young children had died in the home for unmarried pregnant women but could find no records of their burial. Many of the babies had died of malnutrition and neglect. The babies and young children had been buried in an unmarked grave. Read full article with video here.

Important moment in history

“While we are always experiencing history, there are times you know that you are experiencing what will eventually be called a Historic Moment. The fall of the Berlin Wall. The breakup of the USSR. 9/11. But then the moment passes, society adjusts, and we are left with our experiences.” This article has some good ideas and links here.

Oral History of British Science

“Earlier this month the British Society for the History of Science hosted a successful online ‘Global Digital History of Science Festival’ in place of is usual annual conference. This event prompted me to reflect on how the interviews collected for An Oral History of British Science might be used to explore transnational histories of science and to think about what happens when we view our interviewees as nodes in transnational networks rather than as ‘British scientists’. I was also interested to see what oral history, particularly the extended life story approach used in An Oral History of British Science, might contribute to the project of writing transnational histories of science.” Full story with interview excerpts and links here.

COVID in Long Island, New York

“Listen to episodes of Life Under Coronavirus: Long Island’s Helpers, Newsday’s podcast on the pandemic hosted by Mark Chiusano and produced by Amanda Fiscina. It’s a look into how Long Islanders are meeting the challenge of COVID-19. Each episode features a Long Islander talking about his or her experience with coronavirus, with a focus on what people are doing to help. Join us to hear upbeat stories that show how LI is getting by under disease lockdown, an oral history for the period when this is all over.” Listen here.

New York Oral Histories

The New York library system’s Community Oral History Project has reached out to everyday people to hear stories of themselves and their neighborhoods — places ranging from Sandy Grounds in Staten Island, Roosevelt Island, and the Lower East Side. Of course, there’s also one for the many neighborhoods that constitute the Northwest Bronx: “Remembering Riverdale.” For full story click here. The link to the website is here.

National Regional Arts Fellowship

A Tumbarumba arts specialist is one of five regional artists and arts workers awarded a National Regional Arts Fellowship to support their endeavours in their local regions. Vanessa Keenan has been announced as the winner of a $10,000 First Timer – Creative or Professional Development Fellowship for a Regeneration Project that will reflect on the devastating bushfires of 2019-2020. She is one of three winners from regional NSW. The others are from Kandos and Red Head, with another two recipients from Far North Queensland and Tasmania. The 2020 Fellowships centre on themes of bushfire and drought, and artists living in affected areas were encouraged to apply. Read full story here.

UK’s NHS Project

NHS at 70: The Story of Our Lives is a national oral history project that is collecting testimony from patients, staff, and the public around the history of the UK’s public National Health Service (NHS) which was created in 1948. To date we have trained around 150 volunteer interviewers with ages ranging from 20 years to 70 plus years in oral history methodologies and recorded upwards of 800 interviews. Evaluation of the impact of participation on volunteers and interviewees was built into the project from the outset. Read full article here.