This anthropological/social research project, employing non-scholar volunteers, began in 1937, lasted until the early 1950's, and provided particularly interesting information about the war years in a certain country. In 1981, it was revived by a university. What is it?

peasypod

The Mass-Observation Project? http://www.archiveshub.ac.uk/feb04.shtml Aug 13 05, 5:01 PM

TabbyTom

I think this is probably Mass Observation, started by Charles Madge and Tom Harrison in Britain in the late 1930s. Much of the early work was done in Bolton (called Worktown in their publications). Their wartime reports are valuable as a disinterested account of civilian attitudes and morale. I think the university that revived the project was the University of Sussex. Aug 13 05, 5:05 PM

lanfranco

A double yay to you, peasy, and to you, TT! The Maven has been reading Maureen Waller's recent book, "London 1945: Life in the Debris of War," and periodically offering me information from Mass Observation records. The University of Sussex has the archives and is recruiting volunteers. I'm a bit curious about whether the original project was fully publicized and, if so, how the British citizenry reacted. http://www.massobs.org.uk/ Aug 13 05, 5:18 PM