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Oral History Network

Welcome!

Welcome to the Warwick Oral History Network. We are an interdisciplinary network engaged in theoretical and practical issues involved in interviewing for research. We offer a variety of academic seminars and workshops which are open to all, as well as guidance and support for people's oral history projects. Use this website to meet our members, find out about our events, and explore examples of the research being undertaken at Warwick and in the local community.

Next event: Book launch - Now We Are Forty: Conversations With Women by Susannah Wilson (French Studies, Warwick)

Wednesday 13 March 2024, 16.15 start, OC1.07 (Oculus Building, main campus) and online (http://tinyurl.com/m3zptv2s)

Presentation by the author, Q&A, refreshments, and an opportunity to purchase the book

Forty is a watershed moment for many women, prompting a new set of life questions: where am I going next in my career? Is there life beyond children? What do I want from the rest of my life?

Women in their forties today are part of Generation X – children of the post-war baby boomers born in the 1940s and 50s. They were free-range kids who came of age in a world without social media and the internet, where people still wrote letters, chatted on the kitchen phone, and went to the pub on a Friday night.

As a woman of this generation, and conscious of the major social changes that have occurred in her lifetime, Susannah Wilson set out at forty to discover what had become of her female contemporaries, who in 1988 were twelve-year-old classmates at an English comprehensive school.

Part-memoir, part-oral history, Now We Are Forty explores the experiences and attitudes of ten ordinary women today. What have they faced, and made of their lives? What issues do they feel strongly about? How has reaching forty affected them?

Please email oralhistorynetwork@warwick.ac.uk with any enquiries.

Contact us

Email: oralhistorynetwork@warwick.ac.uk

Twitter: @OHNWarwick

Got an idea for an event?

If you've got an idea for an event, or want us to help you organise something, email oralhistorynetwork@warwick.ac.uk

Recent publication: Memories of Binley Colliery

We are delighted to announce that our joint project with Warwickshire Wildlife Trust has reached fruition, in the shape of a full-colour 16-page booklet showcasing a selection of themes and stories from the interviews undertaken with residents of Binley (Coventry) about their local area, in particular the former Binley colliery (now the Claybrookes Marsh nature reserve). This has been a long but exciting process, and huge credit must go to our dedicated undergraduate volunteers who have worked so hard on the booklet, to our colleagues at WWT, and to our designer Steve. You can find out more about the project and download the booklet.