An Oral History Society Special Interest Group
Environment and climate change
In this rapidly changing world what role should oral historians play? Can we play a part in mitigating the worst effects of environmental degradation or help people adapt to the changes that are coming? Or is our role simply to capture stories from a disappearing world?
Context
It is clear from existing scientific evidence that we are entering a period of dramatic environmental change brought on by human-induced climate change, biodiversity loss, global clean water shortages and soil degradation. This change has already begun to have profound implications on the way humans live, work and interact with one another.
In this rapidly changing world what role should oral historians play? Can we play a part in mitigating the worst effects of environmental degradation or help people adapt to the changes that are coming? Or is our role simply to capture stories from a disappearing world?
What is the Environment and Climate Change Special Interest Group?
ECCSIG seeks to bring together Oral History Society members who are working in environment and climate change fields, or who are interested in the issues and practice involved, to gather and share knowledge, to explore these and related questions, and to formulate an Oral History Society response that can be useful for the wider oral history community.
ECCSIG’s purpose is to
- Bring together members of the Oral History Society with an interest in issues related to the environment and climate change
- Create a social media presence for the facilitation of the exchange of ideas and information about oral history projects related to climate change
- Collate information about existing oral history projects in the UK that relate to environment and climate change, initially through social media and, depending on resources, potentially through the creation of a report or a dedicated website
- Connect with the international experience of environment and climate change as recorded through oral history
- Explore the role of oral history in creating public history projects related to environment and climate change
- Give support to and create momentum for new small and large scale oral history projects relating to environment and climate change, either with communities affected by the changing climate or with groups involved with climate protection
- Discuss the potential for creating a long term climate change engagement plan with a set of priorities and standards that could potentially be supported and promoted by the Oral History Society
For more information or to join the group, please contact Jude Allen (Secretary) or Rib Davis (Chair) and they will respond to you as soon as they can.
