University Pandemic Oral History project

Archives and Special Collections, the Scottish Political Archive and the Division of History, Heritage and Politics are delighted to announce an oral history project which will record the University’s responses to the Coronavirus pandemic. We hope to interview a wide range of staff and students to capture the shared and differing experiences that the pandemic has given us all so that we can evidence for the future how the University of Stirling community adapted to this difficult and unprecedented period of history. 

The first call out is for staff members who are interested in being interviewed for this oral history project. From cleaners and security staff to estates and lecturers, we’d like to talk to those who kept campus running while so many of us were away and those who haven’t stepped foot on campus since March 2020 – everyone’s experiences will tell a valuable part of the University of Stirling story. We only ask that you have been working at the University of Stirling for a period of at least 12 weeks since March 2020. 

This first call out will close on the 31st August 2021 after which the project team will be in touch about further steps.

Please email archives@stir.ac.uk to express interest in participating or to ask any questions that you have about the project. We have drawn together so FAQs which may help you below.

FAQs 

What kinds of things will I be asked in the interview? 

We are looking to record an account of what being a staff member at the University was like during the Coronavirus pandemic. While we have questions that we’ll ask everyone, the interview is very much led by you – you do not have to answer any questions you don’t want to answer, you can take your time thinking of a reply and your responses can be as personal as you would like them to be – some people may find that talking about their personal lives weaves easily in and out of discussing their work at the University or how the pandemic affected them but others may wish to talk only of University matters – that’s absolutely fine, you can discuss whatever you are comfortable discussing. 

How long will the interview be?

While we have topics we’d like to touch on in the interview, the length of the interview really depends on how much you would like to say. We will organise interviews at a time to suit you so that you don’t feel rushed. 

Will I have an idea of what you are going to ask me beforehand? 

Absolutely. When we set up an interview with you, we will send you a list of themes we are going to touch on during the interview so that you don’t feel flustered or caught off guard on the day. As mentioned, you don’t have to discuss topics that you feel uncomfortable with and if you notice something on this list of themes that you think you’ll struggle with, you can let us know before the interview and we can work with you to make sure you’re comfortable talking to us. 

Should I write up my answers before the interview? 

We would encourage you not to do this. Oral history interviews are most effective as a free flowing conversation between the interviewer and interviewee. We would much prefer that there were pauses in the recording while you thought about your answer, this helps us to capture genuine responses to our themes and allows you to respond in the moment. It might help you think of the meeting as a conversation between us and you about the last year and a half rather than an interview for which you have to prepare. 

How will these conversations take place? 

We will be using MS Teams to conduct these conversations as many staff members are still working remotely. All University computers have MS Teams installed and you can also install Teams on your mobile phone (if you are going to use your phone then we will provide guidelines for how to best use mobile Teams). You can also take advantage of the Library’s Laptop Loan to check out a University laptop if otherwise accessing Teams will be difficult. Staff interviews will be conducted by Rosie Al-Mulla (Assistant Archivist, IS), Sarah Bromage (Archivist, Scottish Political Archive) and Stephen Bowman (Lecturer, History). 

What will you be recording? 

We will be recording audio from every conversation that we have. We will tell you before we are about to record so that you can ask any questions that you might have before the recording begins. We will also discuss the option of having video recorded as well. At the end of this oral history project, we intend to create a short film using clips from the interviews and other archival material we have gathered through our contemporary collecting project. Any video recordings may be used in this film. Though audio must be recorded, the additional recording of video is entirely optional and will be decided between us and you before we meet with you. 

What happens to the recording? 

By agreeing to the interview, you are agreeing to us keeping a recording (audio or audio visual as we agree with you) of our conversation in the University Archives and Special Collections. It will sit in the Pandemic Archive Collection where it will be kept indefinitely and used by the Archives and Special Collections team and internal and external researchers. This agreement will be put in writing for you to sign.  

Once the interview is concluded, we will send you a copy of the interview so you can listen to what was said. If, at this stage, you are unhappy with the interview or uncertain about making it public, you have the option either to withdraw it or to apply a closure period to your recording – either closure until you leave the University or closure for 75 years.

I’m not sure I want to be interviewed but would like to contribute to the Pandemic Archive in some other way, would this be possible? 

If you think taking part in the oral history project isn’t for you but you want to contribute to the wider Pandemic Archive then we still have our collecting strands open and will gladly receive material relating to our collecting policy. We are taking in: 

• Images of how the pandemic has affected the University campus, the wider Forth Valley community and the neighbourhoods of our staff and students. These will usually be photographs but we can consider taking in original artwork. You can see examples of submitted images on our website. 
• Videos that were taken during the Thursday night Clap for Carers/Clap for NHS/Clap for Keyworkers during the first national lockdown in 2020 
• Diaries that have been kept during the pandemic. If you would like to begin keeping a diary to record this time then Archives and Special Collections have notebooks to hand out to staff and students, email rosie.al-mulla@stir.ac.uk. Please note that taking a notebook does not mean you have to donate it to the archive. 
• We will also consider taking in certain ephemera such as pandemic information sent out in the post from national bodies, local bodies and local communities. If you think you have material that illustrates or illuminates how the pandemic manifested itself in your local community or impacted on you and you would like to donate it for long term historical preservation the please do contact us. If it doesn’t fit in with our collecting policy then we will try our best to put you in touch with a museum or archive service who would be grateful of your donation.