There are eight ‘Telling our Stories’ core team members drawn from two colleges: Social Science and Arts and Humanities. We are all committed to a participatory approach in working with community groups and have longstanding experience in this form of work. Initial queries from HLF projects should be directed to Leslie Hicks (lhicks@lincoln.ac.uk) or Jenny Dagg (jdagg@lincoln.ac.uk).
Dr Siân Adiseshiah is Senior Lecturer in English in the School of Humanities. She teaches, publishes and organises events on contemporary drama, and brings a hands-on approach to literature, drama and performance to the project. This expertise helps to facilitate the representation of life-histories in multiple and imaginative forms. Siân has considerable experience in outreach activities, including conference and festival organisation. Her research projects in drama have tended to focus on hidden histories and the stories of marginalised individuals and communities.
Dr Erin Bell, Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities, brings an historian’s skills to the project which enables the team to offer support in bringing the past to life in innovative and creative ways. She worked on an AHRC-funded research project directed by Professor Ann Gray investigating the popular representation of the past on television in the UK, 1995-2010. Erin is familiar with local and online archives and has conducted research into history based on-line communities. She has experience in community engagement, is a member of the Lincolnshire Local History Society and Archivist for the Lincolnshire Society of Friends. She will be offering support and training to groups in relation to accessing archives, preparing for and carrying out archiving activities and the collection and presentation of material.
Ms Jenny Dagg, Senior Lecturer, School of Health and Social Care, will continue to act as Project Manager with a lead on the day-to-day running of the proposed programme of work. She brings a blend of academic and community-based practice skills to the team and her work in the voluntary sector is extensive. Jenny is committed to the principles of participatory research and recently led a team of Peer Researchers at a Young People’s Support Service to gather and present young people’s views of life and local services. In addition to project management, Jenny will contribute to workshops by providing expertise in interviewing skills and for presentation of material and project evaluation.
Professor Ann Gray, Professor of Cultural Studies and Faculty Research Director, Faculty of Media, Humanities and Technology, will continue to be responsible for support and mentoring of the research team, drawing on her experience as PI of the four year AHRC project and as Faculty Research Director. Ann’s research conducted for the AHRC ‘Televising History 1995-2010’ Project adds depth to the public history dimension of the project and her contacts with national and local producers of history programmes for television will enhance the ‘showcasing’ aspects of the project related to outputs.
Dr Leslie Hicks, Reader, School of Health and Social Care
Leslie is the project lead and has worked with community groups for a number of years, mainly to enable them to develop their skills in research design and methods. For the current project, Leslie is providing support in interviewing skills, communication and engagement techniques, effective presentation of materials and methods for project evaluation.
Ms Janice Kearns, Senior Lecturer, School of Media, worked for 10 years as director and producer on broadcast documentaries before moving into academia. She is currently working on an archival film project with MACE (Media Archive of Central England). Janice brings applied media skills to the team and will offer extensive skills currently used in teaching on undergraduate programmes in Media and Documentary Production. This involves a high proportion of practical and project work and the community groups are keen for us to engage students in our work with them, where appropriate.
Mr Adam O’Meara, Senior Lecturer, School of Media, teaches the photography element on the BA Media Production and on the MA Digital Image and Photography. He has initiated projects with staff and photography students in schools in the Lincolnshire area and is developing a documentary study of rural communities and their relationship and dependency on urban resources to sustain their existence. Adam’s digital imaging and photography skills will underpin support provided to community groups and along with Janice, he will support engagement of students in this work, where appropriate. Adam is experienced in the use of ICT and will be able to provide support to our lead in this area, Joss Winn (see below).
Mr Joss Winn, Senior Lecturer, Centre for Educational Research and Development, brings expertise in website and on-line activity to the team. This experience will underpin the support provided to all projects and will enable their reach to include virtual communities and groups. Joss manages the University of Lincoln blogging platform and social network, http://dev.lincoln.ac.uk, used by over 2000 staff and students. He also provides training to staff and teaches the use of blogs and social media on a number of courses across the university. Joss is an experienced archivist who undertakes research and development into the use and role of technology in higher education. Joss manages a number of research and development projects and currently teaches Online Journalism with colleagues from the School of Journalism. His skills base is extensive and central to all stages of this project.
Rob Coley, Lecturer, School of Media in our team. Rob’s expertise lies in visual and digital culture, with a multi-media skills base. He has provided assistance voluntarily throughout the course of Phase 1 and has been an asset to the team. Rob shares an active interest in community based research, social heritage and media ecology. His role internally will be to extend Adam O’Meara’s reach and specifically to develop the student community engagement aspects of the project. Externally, Rob will work with other community groups to extend his experience and contribute to enhancing their projects.