Reading Mass Obs directive responses on the Falklands War; struck by the woman who said she had not been keeping up with it as well as she should, because she'd had to make completely new square dance costumes for herself and her husband at very short notice - ThreadSky

lottelydia.bsky.social • 52 days ago

Reading Mass Obs directive responses on the Falklands War; struck by the woman who said she had not been keeping up with it as well as she should, because she'd had to make completely new square dance costumes for herself and her husband at very short notice

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drjlhazelton.bsky.social•52 days ago

This resonates with U.S.'ers inattention to international relations. They are so secure that they need not pay attention.

tpgroberts.bsky.social•52 days ago

I like the idea this is connected, and the Square Dance Costume Emergency was that the old costumes were Eva and Juan

lottelydia.bsky.social•52 days ago

Like Stockport County having to change their kit back after their Argentine enthusiasm post-1978 World Cup

bobhooker.bsky.social•52 days ago

Don't you remember the news being on when the news was on, one hour on one of the 3 stations you might be lucky to get?

The Gulf War was the first 24/7 news cycle war on cable. Back in the day you could miss something real easy if you were busy

lottelydia.bsky.social•52 days ago

(Furious that didn't make it into my book, along with her 5-year-old daughter's mysterious vomiting virus and her absent boss. Harried working-mother square-dancers are under-represented in the historiography.)

lottelydia.bsky.social•52 days ago

(but what happened to the old square-dancing costumes?! this is the real mal d'archive)

slowbikeiain.bsky.social•52 days ago

I really ought to track down more mass observations. I read one from the late 1930s and it was fascinating, especially as the report was written before WWII was declared so neither the observed nor observers knew how it was going to play out.

lottelydia.bsky.social•52 days ago

The published collections are well worth reading! The Speak for Yourself anthology is really good, for example. Shame the bulk of the digitised archive is paywalled, but there is a lot of 1980s stuff here if that's of interest https://blogs.sussex.ac.uk/observingthe80s/home/mass-observation/

canndo.bsky.social•52 days ago

The absolute joy that comes with the quotidian nature of the Mass Obs archive!

richard01021111.bsky.social•52 days ago

Wow, that sounds like quite a hectic situation! It's funny how life sometimes throws us into unexpected challenges, even when world events are unfolding

jomahoney.bsky.social•52 days ago

Curious for my own work: is the decolonization frame common for respondents? Or is it there at all?

jomahoney.bsky.social•52 days ago

As separate from viewing the war as an attack on the UK.

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