What was the Mass Observation Project?

Answer 1

Mass Observation was a social research organisation set up before the Second World War in 1937 by a group of young men and women in London. The key figures were Tom Harrisson (anthropologist), Charles Madge (poet and journalist) and Humphrey Jennings (documentary film maker and artist). They aimed to create an "anthropology of ourselves" and argued that there was an immense gulf of knowledge and understanding between the "Establishment" and ordinary people. An early project was the study of Bolton in Lancashire which the Mass Observers called "Worktown". It included painting by the artists Julian Trevelyan and Bill Coldstream and the Photography of Humphrey Spender and Humphrey Jennings. Some of the paintings and photographs can be seen at Bolton Museum. After the outbreak of war in 1939, MO worked for the government for about a year, sending reports on home front civilian morale to the Home Intelligence department of the Ministry of Information. Otherwise, MO was an independent organisation which involved both full and part-time investogators and volunteer contributors from all over the UK who wriote about their everyday lives in daily diaries. MO continued after the war into the 50s but became more focused on consumer research. Over 25 books were published by MO during its active years and many more have been produced since. The papers generfated by the research are now housed at the University of Sussex as the Mass Observation Archive and are accessible to anyone who wishes to study them. They are heavily used by both academics and the media and also by history groups, schools, novelists and film makers. There are two web sites, one is part of the University of Sussex Library website where you can explore the catalogues and lists www.sussex.ac.uk/library/specialcoll or you can consult the main MO website at www.massobs.co.uk You will find lists of further reading, information about consulting the Archive, news about new projects and publications, the online version of MO and the contemporary MO Project which gathers the stories of people living in the UK today. My knowledge of MO comes from the fact that I was its archivist from 1974 until 2008 and am now (part-time) the Development Director. Professor Dorothy Sheridan d.e.sheridan@sussex.ac.uk

Answer 2

The Mass Observation Project was a social research organization founded in 1937 in the UK. It aimed to record the everyday lives of British people through diaries, surveys, and observations. It provided valuable insights into social attitudes and behaviors in Britain during the 20th century.