Who we are

With our Community Partners and Collaborators, we co-produce globally significant research that uses oral history methods and sources, while attending to regional and civic responsibilities.

The Collective provides a forum for knowledge exchange. We explore the dynamics of memory and historical narrative through theory and practice, and strive to include those voices too often marginalised in representations of the past. You can read news from Collective members by subscribing to our newsletter.

We work across diverse academic disciplines on an equitable basis—from creative arts to medicine—and in partnership with researchers and organisations from around the world, as well as with history groups and community historians. Our research and teaching explore the role of oral history in communicating the past in the present. The Collective's blog, The Lug, provides reflections on oral history through our work, which includes research-led teaching and PhD supervision.

The Oral History Collective at Newcastle University was launched in the School of History, Classics and Archaeology in January 2018 and was funded for four years through a University Strategic Research Investment Grant. You can read more about our history here. Since then, we have continued to attract external funding across a range of research and engagement projects that matter.

Our mission
The Oral History Collective is developing the next generation of oral historians, with community and early-career researchers involved in the design of ground-breaking projects. Using oral history as both a method and a source in public history, we seek to conduct and inform multi-disciplinary research and to respond to societal and global challenges. Our projects prioritise public history and social historical justice. This includes helping to shape policies on poverty, ageing, transport, migration, housing, crime, environment, and international development. You can read more about our current and past projects.

Our focus is on research excellence and innovation across the creation, curation, interpretation, and application of oral history, upholding the distinct analytical value of oral history as a critical method and reflective discipline.

We aim to:
• Be globally connected, community-engaged, and driven by research that has a positive impact on the world.
• Empower communities and research partners through research of mutual benefit.
• Collaborate with trusted partners to undertake research and produce tangible impact.
• Be ethically responsible and inclusive in research and teaching.
• Offer innovative teaching in the uses of oral history.
• Undertake research that promotes ground-breaking uses of oral history.
• Foster a culture of innovation, partnership, and mutual benefit, working across the disciplines of the University and beyond.

Our setting
The North East of England and Newcastle University have long been important centres for oral history activity. Within the University, oral historians research and teach across disciplinary boundaries, from the creative arts to medicine. In the community and cultural sector, our oral historians work in community education, museums, archives, and a diverse range of organisations. Recognising the wealth of experience in and around Newcastle, the Oral History Collective was launched in January 2018.

We also support our colleagues within the Collective through our monthly drop-ins, monthly reading group, and regular seminars. For more information, you can contact us at oralhistory@ncl.ac.uk.

Want to work with us?

If you would like to work with us or propose a collaborative project, please follow this link [https://forms.office.com/e/2yc65Hpyt0 ].