The Diarists’ Audience

NABS conference, The Documents of Life RevisitedEdinburgh , 20th May 2011

Sally Finchers.a.fincher@kent.ac.uk

Share Project

http://www.sharingpractice.ac.uk

Sense of audience

• So, from the start, the diaries were never private,

never context-free.

• Some diarists came to the project with an audience

in mind.

• Sometimes this was the researchers,• Sometimes this was the researchers,� I want to take a moment to thank Sally and the other

people who started this project. It is very interesting to me. And I think that you are very clever to ask people to do this just once a month. I obviously couldn't do it every day. It's just too time-consuming. But once a month is about right. I had fun keeping track of everything I did today, and then writing these reflections. I look forward to seeing the report you write on this project at some point in the future (SP119)

Sense of audience

• So, from the start, the diaries were never private,

never context-free.

• Some diarists came to the project with an audience

in mind.

• Sometimes this was the researchers,• Sometimes this was the researchers,� I want to take a moment to thank Sally and the other

people who started this project. It is very interesting to me. And I think that you are very clever to ask people to do this just once a month. I obviously couldn't do it every day. It's just too time-consuming. But once a month is about right. I had fun keeping track of everything I did today, and then writing these reflections. I look forward to seeing the report you write on this project at some point in the future (SP119)

Sense of audience

• For some, the audience was more distant

� Before diving into the details of my mid-September day I think it’s worth outlining the reasons why I’m excited about the opportunity to be involved. Firstly, this current project reminded me of the Victoria Wood drama “Housewife, 49” reminded me of the Victoria Wood drama “Housewife, 49” based on the war-time Mass Observation diaries of Nella Last. We are hearing a lot at the moment about “the student experience” and a number of exciting projects are underway to capture the realities of being a student at the start of the 21st century. I am attracted by the potential richness of diarising “the academic experience” in a warts-n-all manner. (SP168)

Sense of audience

• For some, the audience was more distant

� Before diving into the details of my mid-September day I think it’s worth outlining the reasons why I’m excited about the opportunity to be involved. Firstly, this current project reminded me of the Victoria Wood drama “Housewife, 49” reminded me of the Victoria Wood drama “Housewife, 49” based on the war-time Mass Observation diaries of Nella Last. We are hearing a lot at the moment about “the student experience” and a number of exciting projects are underway to capture the realities of being a student at the start of the 21st century. I am attracted by the potential richness of diarising “the academic experience” in a warts-n-all manner. (SP168)

Sense of audience

• Despite guarantees that anonymity would be

preserved, and careful statements asking

participants not to inadvertently identify themselves,

some entries were aimed at an audience far from

the Share Project itself, a manifesto for history

� On Wednesday 15th September at [named] University we began to dismantle the excellent, widely praised English degree which we have together shaped, developed, honed, critiqued and delivered for many years (SP170)

Day Survey Reporter

• Sent every month to contributors – a “thank you”, a

sense of community.

• Also, sent to Times Higher and Mass Observation.

Chastisement & Punishment: November

• “Monday 15 November 2010: Have decided not to

write this month. A quote from my September diary

in the THE referred to an event within the institution

on 15th. I've not heard that anyone here read it, but

it's kind of put me off. Maybe next month.” (SP206)

•• Who is the audience?

Chastisement & Punishment: February

• Academics are one of the most whiniest groups of

people in the work force! All they do is complain,

while they have one of the best jobs in the world.

Where else people get to decide what they do when

other than lecture/meeting times and get to decide

what direction to take their research in? I am sick of what direction to take their research in? I am sick of

the newsletter for this survey being full of complaints

by people who should probably quit their jobs if they

hate them so much!

• I had a wonderful day this Tuesday ...

Chastisement & Punishment: February

• If I hear any more complaints about how bad their

academic job is, I'll probably stop participating in this

academic whiners' survey! (SP 325)

• Who is the audience?

Diarists’ Audience

• Despite whatever else contributors may think, de

facto, I am the audience: The Diarists’ Audience.

• The Reporter contains no overt analysis, only direct

quotations “we can learn from understanding the

voice of a life” (Plummer)voice of a life” (Plummer)

• I read, I extract, I reflect themselves back to them –

and in doing so, shape their responses.

“Outside” communication

• “Obviously my colleagues write better than I do as

I've only supplied a pedestrian report of activities

and timings. Are you content with the latter or do

you want social commentary and philosophy?”

(e-mail, 26th October 2010)

“Inside” communication

• I read with interest the overview piece from February for this project, and I will admit I felt a little anger at the contributor who left work early that day to spend time with his son because it was a lovely sunny day ... I felt it was a very unfair picture of how academics live their working lives. (SP 127)

•• In the feedback sheet from February 15th someone said something very true – we have a great job. We have flexibility about what we teach, what we research and the hours we work. Today I am working from 7:45-2:45, because it suits me & my family. (SP 234)

• Now look at me, I sound like a moaning Minnie – just like all those people quoted on the last diary day. Good grief, so we work at the weekend –so much of what we do is what we love to do. (SP126)

Direct communication

• And I'd prefer this didn't go in the monthly sum-up,

thanks. (SP127)

Continuum of construction

375 diarists1 reader

Thematic reporting

375 readers

Continuum of construction

375 diarists1 reader

Thematic reporting

375 readers

Continuum of construction

• There is no sense – or a real sense – of authorship.

Do I write the newsletters, or do they?

• There is an unusually complex relationship between

text and audience.

• Is this a dialogue? Or co-construction? Or pollution?• Is this a dialogue? Or co-construction? Or pollution?

• Who has power?

• I have no solutions for this - other than to document

the dilemma and nuance so that this variety of voice

and influence is perceptible.

Constructed artefacts

• ...the ways in which life stories... are written is an

interesting and important topic to study. The very

modes of writing may indeed shape the life – or the

“findings” (Plummer)

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