OHS Conferences and Events of 2003
Transitions
Annual Conference of the Oral History Society in conjunction with the Scottish Oral History Group
This conference is jointly sponsored by the Oral History Society and the Scottish Oral History Group and will be held at the medieval campus of the University of Aberdeen from Friday 13 until Sunday 15 June 2003
The theme of the conference is Transitions - transitions in working lives; in politics; in society and in the theory, practice and role of oral history itself. The broader contexts are the transitions in the UK from imperial island nation to offshore constituent of the European Union, from pre- to post-Thatcherism, from centralised nation state to 'devolved' collection of nations. Perhaps never before has there been such a set of circumstances calling for re-definitions of personal identity - whether in relationship to the nation, the community, gender, social or racial group.
Holding the conference in Aberdeen will allow us to reflect on how (or whether) oral history is capturing echoes of the transition of Scotland from subordinate to devolved nation, and of the city and region from economically-threatened to oil-rich community to a future uncertain. Presentations at the conference will reflect on such themes but so too will those exemplifying, or reflecting methodologically on other social, cultural or political transitions - or indeed on moments of decisive transition in personal life.
By gathering a diverse collection of such presentations, we hope collectively to reflect on the transitions that have taken place, and are taking place within oral history itself. With oral history increasingly being regarded as a valid and significant form of historical documentation, we need to ask about our own role in the transmission of information from interviewee to interviewer to future researcher. How are we affecting this transmission? What is our role in the transition taking place here?
Speakers will include:
- Donald Ritchie, Associate Historian in the US Senate Historical Office
- Alessandro Portelli, Professor of American Literature, University of Rome
- Hugo Manson, Research Fellow, University of Aberdeen; Co-founder, New Zealand Oral History Archive: Transitions in Oral History
- Femi Folorunso, Scottish Arts Council: Oral history and the shaping of immigration aesthetics
- Uma Kothari, University of Manchester: Oral histories, life geographies and travelling cultures: from colonialism to international development
- Treve Crago, Kayleigh Milden, Garry Tregidga: Institute of Cornish Studies: Cornish transitions
- Howard Mitchell, Scottish Oral History Group
- Billy Kenefick, University of Dundee: Memories of labour camp life in the 1930s: challenging convention, wisdom in the search for the 'truth'
- Ann Day, University of Chichester & Ken Lunn, University of Portsmouth: 'On bread and dripping, feet and inches, we've built battleships': transitions in work practices in Portsmouth dockyard in the twentieth century
- Anna Green, University of Waikato, New Zealand: The transition from individual memory to collective memory: what is the role of oral historians?
- John Holt, Transfield Worley Woodside Alliance, Perth, Western Australia: Transition of experience in the Australian offshore oil industry
- Lesley Diack, University of Aberdeen: Health services research: oral history and transitions in policy and practice
- Helen Clark & Liz Carnegie, Edinburgh: She was aye working
- Murray Watson, University of Dundee: History, transition and the invisible acculturation of Scotland's largest migrant group - the English
- Ronald Johnston, Glasgow Caledonian University & Arthur McIvor, University of Strathclyde: From healthy workers to 'industrial lepers': oral histories of occupational disease and disability in Scotland since the 1930s
- Siobhan Tolland, University of Aberdeen: Socialist language and rhetoric of the Post-Thatcher era
PROVISIONAL PROGRAMME
FRIDAY 13th JUNE
4pm Registration/ Coffee/ Exhibitions
5.30pm Keynote speech: Transitions in Oral History. Hugo Manson, Research Fellow, Lives in the Oil Industry oral history project, University of Aberdeen, Co-founder of the New Zealand Oral History Archive
6.30pm Discussion
7pm Reception
SATURDAY 14th JUNE
Morning Session
Transitions in politics/migration
Keynote speaker: Donald Ritchie, Associate Historian in the US Senate Historical Office
Other speakers will include: Uma Kothari and Murray Watson
Lunchtime will include the Oral History Society Annual General Meeting
Afternoon session
Transitions in the workplace/HEALTH
Speakers will include Ken Lunn and Ann Day, Helen Clark and Liz Carnegie, and John Holt
Keynote speaker: Femi Folorunso
Evening
Principal's Reception
Conference dinner (not included in cost of the conference)
Entertainment with Stanley Robertson of the Traveller's Oral History project
SUNDAY 15th JUNE
Morning session
Transitions in Oral history
Speakers will include Alessandro Portelli, Anna Green and Billy Kenefick
The conference will end at 12.30pm.
Coinciding with the conference there will be an exhibition on the theme of transitions. Conference participants wishing to bring a display or poster illustrating their own projects or organisations are welcome to do so. Please contact the organisers at the address below.
ABERDEEN
Aberdeen combines ancient cultural heritage with thriving contemporary community and strong economic pulse. The 'Granite City', with a population of 250,000, has become the offshore energy capital of Europe and the hub of the UK's North Sea oil and gas industry.
For entertainment and leisure, Aberdeen offers:
* an exciting city centre with several busy shopping centres l an eclectic mix of independent shops and top high street stores
* a wide choice of wine bars, traditional pubs and restaurants l a city nightlife that is lively, vibrant, and full of variety l plenty of cinemas
* a magnificent Edwardian theatre featuring international artists
* ballet, opera and light entertainment. l classical, contemporary, and rock concerts l museums, art galleries l the popular Lemon Tree attracting an exciting mixture of contemporary theatre, dance, comedy and music.
For fresh-air enthusiasts, there are golden beaches, dunes and cliffs, which give shelter to great nurseries of seabirds and winter migrants; the nearby mountain ranges of the Cairngorms and the Grampians offer superb opportunities for hillwalking, mountaineering and ski-ing. Among our rivers, the Dee, the Don, and the Ythan offer fishing, rowing and canoeing and some of the most beautiful countryside in Scotland.
Getting to Aberdeen is easy. Several airlines fly to the city including BA, Easyjet, Ryanair, BMI and KLM. Flying time from London is about an hour. Or if you're coming by rail, the links to the north are equally good, with several trains each day direct from London and other cities. Aberdeen is serviced by GNER, Virgin and Scotrail. Road links with Edinburgh, Glasgow and the south are first class.
Getting around in Aberdeen is easy too. It has excellent bus services giving access to all parts of the city and suburbs. Distances are short, and a pleasant walk or a brief cycle run are healthy alternatives.
The University of Aberdeen was founded in 1495. It is the fifth oldest university in the UK, established under the authority of a papal bull by Bishop William Elphinstone. Today the university has thirteen thousand students in its two main campuses at Old Aberdeen and at Foresterhill, the home of its world-renowned medical school. The University of Aberdeen has the oldest chair in medicine in the English speaking world, founded in 1497.
REGISTRATION FORM
I would like to register for the Transitions conference and have ticked the appropriate boxes below and provided the necessary payment herewith (one copy of the form per person)
Conference Fee: Your conference fee covers all conference sessions, light refreshments, Saturday lunch and Saturday evening performance. Please note that there are no single-day rates. Please tick the appropriate category:
* ____ £65 standard fee
* ____ £45 fee for Oral History Society Members (joining now entitles you to the reduced conference rate, in which case please include an additional payment of £15.00 per person made payable to the Oral History Society)
* ____ £40 fee for full-time students/unwaged/pensioners
* ____ £25 fee for conference dinner on the Saturday night (including wine)
Accommodation: There is a limited amount of accommodation available at the university. For further details please contact Louise Scott, Hospitality Services, University of Aberdeen, University Office, Regent Walk, Aberdeen, AB24 3FX. Tel: 01224 272662, email l.scott@abdn.ac.uk. If you would prefer to receive a list of hotels and B&Bs in the area please tick this box ____
I enclose a cheque for £______ made payable to the University of Aberdeen to cover my conference fee.
I enclose a cheque for £ 15 made payable to the Oral History Society to cover my membership fee.
Name:
Address:
Email:
Tel:
Fax:
Please tell us if you have any special access, mobility or dietary requirements and contact the conference administrator if you require further information. Please retain a copy of this form.
Please return this form by the Friday 30th May to:
Dr Joyce Walker, Department of History, university of aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 3FX.
An acknowledgement, final conference details and a map will be sent at the beginning of June.
The Oral History Society is a registered charity which publishes a twice yearly journal Oral History, organises an annual conference and operates a comprehensive regional advice and information network for members using oral history in schools, colleges, with older people, in libraries, museums and communities. Individual membership costs £15 per year, and benefits include reduced rates for conferences and publications, the illustrated journal, and mailings of activities of interest to members.