          |
 
"Most of the things we use in our
everyday lives have been designed by someone- from houses, furniture and
clothes, to personal stereos and toothbrushes. We seldom stop to think how they
were made, or how they came to look as they do, or what reasons are for their
existence. Yet the story of their development from earlier times is often
fascinating, and we can deepen our understanding of their design by studying
the way they have developed from the past."
  
Terry Liddament: Design in
Society
|
Why use oral history?
Oral history is an excellent method of capturing
evocative memories in the words and dialect of everyday people, and as Terry
Liddament writes: "Without memory, you would have no knowledge of your own
past, and you would find it difficult to explain the kind of person you are. A
society with no knowledge of its past might be in much the same position,
society needs some knowledge of the past in order to understand the
present."
Terry Liddament: Design in Society
|
Extracts from the Basildon and Billericay
domestic technology interviews have been selected on a number of
themes.
 Click here to go to the
Domestic Technology Interviews
|
 
|
