Bringing Mass Observation to America

Capturing Culture a Paragraph at a Time

This website is designed by American University students. It is a space for us to begin to document, consider and present snippets and snapshots of contemporary culture. Drawing upon the example set by the Mass Observation movement in Britian, we want to apply the tools of directed observation and anthropology to contemporary American culture. The Mass Observation movement attempted to get ordinary people to document their lives and the concerns of Britons on the eve of the Second World War. As such it was a movement that allowed workers and those marginalized to find a space to talk about the texture of their lives.

This blog will provide a space for AU students to think about issues, concerns and trends of contemporary interest to our culture and to document them as a snapshot of who we are at this moment in time. In the future we hope to encourage others to be "Culture Observers" - to volunteer to share their insights in ways that will add texture and nuance to our own. Who are we at this moment in time? What are the things that capture our interest and what might this say about us as a culture?