Miniatures: Small Stories - Big Histories

Miniatures Podcast
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Welcome to Miniatures, the Podcast for the History of Everyday Life. We show how the big picture in history is best seen through the assemblage of individual and local stories, what the German historian Alf Lüdtke called ‘miniatures’. We discuss all aspects of the history of everyday life, microhistory, and ‘history from below’, featuring interviews and discussion with experts in the field. Between 2020 and 2024 this podcast was supported by the European Research Council as part of the 'Dictatorship as Experience Project' at the University of St Andrews.

  1. 04/02/2025

    Miniatures Episode 19: Education for Ordinary People: Mass Education and the Everyday with Dr Laura Carter

    What can radio broadcasts, school curriculums and letters to the headmistress tell us about everyday experiences of mass education in 20th century Britain? Dr Nathaniel Andrews is joined by Dr Laura Carter for a discussion of her fascinating research on British mass education and the everyday . Tune in to hear Dr Carter’s thoughts on the role of everyday life history in pedagogic practice, the ways in which class, gender and race influenced the curriculum and classroom experiences of 20th century British students, and how changing everyday interactions with the environment can be seen in an educational setting. More information about Dr Laura Carter can be found here: https://larca.u-paris.fr/en/membre/carter-laura-en/ Miniatures is the podcast of the ERC-funded ‘Dictatorship as Experience’ project at the University of St Andrews. We show how the big picture in history is best seen through the assemblage of individual and local stories, what the German historian Alf Lüdtke called ‘miniatures’. At Miniatures, we forego a studio model and instead adopt a ‘guerrilla’ approach to podcasting, grabbing interviews on handheld recorders with busy researchers whenever and wherever we can find them: in their offices, at conferences, or at a distance via video chat. Please do excuse any sound-based issues that may occur as a result of this method. To learn more about the wider project, visit: https://arts.st-andrews.ac.uk/everyday-dictatorship/ Key words: Miniatures, Everyday Life History, Everyday Dictatorship Project, education, secondary school, radio, environment, gender, race, imperialism, class, childhood, pupils, letters, archives, history, everyday life, history, podcast.

    39 min

  2. 11/10/2024

    Miniatures Episode 18: Waiting as Research - Everyday Life in South Africa’s Platinum Belt with Dr Joseph Mujere

    What can the act of waiting tell us about the everyday lives and emotions of those living in informal settlements around the world? Dr Ushehwedu Kufakurinani is joined by Dr Joseph Mujere for a fascinating discussion of Dr Mujere’s work on everyday interactions in South Africa’s Platinum Belt. Listen to hear all about Dr Mujere’s experiences undertaking oral history and ethnographic research in South Africa’s platinum mining communities, the challenges of studying often ephemeral informal settlement sites, and the power of waiting as both subject and experience in South Africa’s mining regions. More information about Dr Jospeh Mujere can be found here: https://www.york.ac.uk/history/people/mujere/#profile-content Miniatures is the podcast of the ERC-funded ‘Dictatorship as Experience’ project at the University of St Andrews. We show how the big picture in history is best seen through the assemblage of individual and local stories, what the German historian Alf Lüdtke called ‘miniatures’. At Miniatures, we forego a studio model and instead adopt a ‘guerrilla’ approach to podcasting, grabbing interviews on handheld recorders with busy researchers whenever and wherever we can find them: in their offices, at conferences, or at a distance via video chat. Please do excuse any sound-based issues that may occur as a result of this method. To learn more about the wider project, visit: https://arts.st-andrews.ac.uk/everyday-dictatorship/

    33 min

  3. 10/28/2024

    Miniatures Episode 17: Everyday Food Histories with Dr Sarah Frank and Dr Peggy Brunache

    Miniatures is Back! New episodes every 2nd Monday, starting this week! What can couscous, Soul Food and meat-free meals tell us about the everyday lives of people in the past? Prof. Kate Ferris is joined by Dr Sarah Frank and Dr Peggy Brunache to explore all things food history! Tune in as they discuss everyday food practices, agency and power among French Colonial POWs in WW2, citizens of Fascist Italy, and enslaved people in the Atlantic Slave Trade, and find out why Slave Cuisine is such an important concept and why we should all be thinking more about our meals. More information about Dr Peggy Brunache can be found here: https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/humanities/staff/peggybrunache/ And about Dr Sarah Frank, here: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/hpdh/people/history-staff/sarah-frank This podcast was originally recorded as part of the ERC research project ‘Dictatorship as experience: A comparative history of everyday life and the ‘lived experience’ of dictatorship in Mediterranean Europe (1922-1975)’ led by Prof. Kate Ferris at the University of St Andrews. To learn more about the wider project, visit: ⁠arts.st-andrews.ac.uk/everyday-dictatorship/⁠ Hosted by: Prof. Kate Ferris Produced by: Islay Shelbourne Music by: Oi Palaiológoi (Violin - Roddy Beaton, Outi - David Hughes

    1h 22m

  4. 10/07/2024

    Miniatures Episode 16: History at the Border - Everyday Life in Honde Valley with Nicholas Nyachega

    What can the everyday practices of people at the Zimbabwe-Mozambique border reveal about challenges to state power and state definitions of criminality? Dr Ushehwedu Kufakurinani is joined by Nicholas Nyachega to discuss Nyachega’s fascinating work on the Honde Valley and the Zimbabwe-Mozambique borderlands. Nyachega introduces us to the Honde Valley as an example of a contested space, in which local practices and customs challenge state definitions of legal border crossing as enforced by patrols and criminal convictions. Tune in for discussions of research methods, ethics and Nyachega’s call for new ways of interpreting and accessing the past in a postcolonial context. More information about Nicholas Nyachega can be found https://icgc.umn.edu/nicholas-nyachega This podcast was originally published on 26th March 2024 as part of the ERC research project ‘Dictatorship as experience: A comparative history of everyday life and the ‘lived experience’ of dictatorship in Mediterranean Europe (1922-1975)’ led by Prof. Kate Ferris at the University of St Andrews. To learn more about the wider project, visit: ⁠arts.st-andrews.ac.uk/everyday-dictatorship/⁠ Hosted by: Dr Ushehwedu Kufakurinani Produced by: Islay Shelbourne Music by: Oi Palaiológoi (Violin - Roddy Beaton, Outi - David Hughes

    50 min

  5. 10/07/2024

    Miniatures Episode 15: The History of Everyday Life History in Mexico with Dr Alfredo Ruiz Islas

    Statement following the death of Pilar Gonzalbo Aizpuru (1935-2024) We would like to express our deepest condolences to the family, friends, colleagues, and students of Dr. Pilar Gonzalbo Aizpuru who sadly passed away on the 26th of February 2024, at the age of 89. Pilar Gonzalbo Aizpuru was a pioneer in the history of everyday life and, as we discuss with our guest in this episode, her work has had a considerable influence on historical scholarship in Latin America and beyond. Pilar Gonzalbo Aizpuru will continue to inspire historians on both sides of the Atlantic, and this episode is dedicated to her. How have Mexican scholars approached the complex world of everyday life histories? Dr Nathaniel Andrews is joined by Dr Alfredo Ruiz Islas for a wide-ranging discussion on the origins, methodological approaches and key works within the field of Mexican Everyday Life History. Dr Ruiz Islas takes us through the development of the discipline and introduces us to the seminal work of one of its founding members – Dr Pilar Gonzalbo Aizpuru. Tune in for discussions of sources, interdisciplinary challenges and the way in which colonial experiences influence both the realities and studies of everyday life in Mexico. More information about Alfredo Ruiz Islas can be found here: https://iberoamericana.academia.edu/AlfredoRuizIslas This podcast was originally published on 26th February 2024 as part of the ERC research project ‘Dictatorship as experience: A comparative history of everyday life and the ‘lived experience’ of dictatorship in Mediterranean Europe (1922-1975)’ led by Prof. Kate Ferris at the University of St Andrews. To learn more about the wider project, visit: ⁠arts.st-andrews.ac.uk/everyday-dictatorship/⁠ Hosted by: Dr Nathaniel Andrews Produced by: Islay Shelbourne Music by: Oi Palaiológoi (Violin - Roddy Beaton, Outi - David Hughes)

    1h 9m

  6. 10/07/2024

    Miniatures Episode 14: History in the Present Tense with Prof. Claire Langhamer and Prof. Hester Barron.

    What can a children’s essay assignment tell us about the hopes and dreams of a generation of schoolgirls? Dr Huw Halstead is joined by Professor Claire Langhamer and Professor Hester Barron to discuss their book ‘Class of ’37: Voices from Working-class Girlhood’, published in 2021. Hester and Claire take us through the writing of the book, from the use of mass observation reports and the essay prompts of a classroom of schoolgirls in Bolton, to oral history interviews with their descendants and the structural and tense choices made when writing a book their mums could read. More information about ‘Class of ’37: Voices from Working-class Girlhood’ can be found here: https://www.sussex.ac.uk/broadcast/read/55855 This podcast was originally published on 5th February 2024 as part of the ERC research project ‘Dictatorship as experience: A comparative history of everyday life and the ‘lived experience’ of dictatorship in Mediterranean Europe (1922-1975)’ led by Prof. Kate Ferris at the University of St Andrews. To learn more about the wider project, visit: ⁠arts.st-andrews.ac.uk/everyday-dictatorship/⁠ Hosted by: Dr Huw Halstead Produced by: Islay Shelbourne Music by: Oi Palaiológoi (Violin - Roddy Beaton, Outi - David Hughes)

    1h 4m

  7. 10/07/2024

    Miniatures Episode 13: Icons of Consumerism - Advertising and Consumption with Prof. Natalia Milanesio

    What can drinking customs and advertising company employees wearing cheap shoes tell us about Argentine consumption habits? Dr Nathaniel Andrews is joined by Professor Natalia Milanesio to explore her fascinating work on consumerism, advertising and the everyday in Argentina. Professor Milanesio introduces us to her fascinating work on consumer culture and the everyday in the Argentine and Latin American contexts, including how to find the everyday in both archives and advertising campaigns, the dramatic expansion of consumption practices in Argentina under Perón, the relation between consumption and gender norms in mid-20th century Argentina, and the role of food within the study of Latin American consumerism, advertising and everyday life. More information on Professor Milanesio’s work and publications can be found at www.ucl.ac.uk/americas/people/ac…-natalia-milanesio. This podcast was originally published on 11th December 2023 as part of the ERC research project ‘Dictatorship as experience: A comparative history of everyday life and the ‘lived experience’ of dictatorship in Mediterranean Europe (1922-1975)’ led by Prof. Kate Ferris at the University of St Andrews. To learn more about the wider project, visit: ⁠arts.st-andrews.ac.uk/everyday-dictatorship/⁠ Hosted by: Dr Nathaniel Andrews Produced by: Islay Shelbourne Music by: Oi Palaiológoi (Violin - Roddy Beaton, Outi - David Hughes)

    51 min

  8. 10/07/2024

    Miniatures Episode 12: Navigating the Borderlands - Everyday Shopping Practices with Dr Nedson Pophiwa

    Just why do people travel thousands of kilometers to go to the shops? Dr Ushehwedu Kufakurinani is joined by Dr Nedson Pophiwa to delve into the fascinating world of shopping at the borderlands. Dr Pophiwa takes us to the Zimbabwe-South Africa border towns of Beitbridge and Musina, exposing the realities of cross-border shopping, the complex networks of transport and trade, and the methodological challenges of gathering data at the border. This podcast was originally published on 27th November 2023 as part of the ERC research project ‘Dictatorship as experience: A comparative history of everyday life and the ‘lived experience’ of dictatorship in Mediterranean Europe (1922-1975)’ led by Prof. Kate Ferris at the University of St Andrews. To learn more about the wider project, visit: ⁠arts.st-andrews.ac.uk/everyday-dictatorship/⁠ Hosted by: Dr Ushehwedhu Kufakurinani Produced by: Islay Shelbourne Music by: Oi Palaiológoi (Violin - Roddy Beaton, Outi - David Hughes)

    51 min
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About

Welcome to Miniatures, the Podcast for the History of Everyday Life. We show how the big picture in history is best seen through the assemblage of individual and local stories, what the German historian Alf Lüdtke called ‘miniatures’. We discuss all aspects of the history of everyday life, microhistory, and ‘history from below’, featuring interviews and discussion with experts in the field. Between 2020 and 2024 this podcast was supported by the European Research Council as part of the 'Dictatorship as Experience Project' at the University of St Andrews.

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