In the first of a two-part special on everyday life in the COVID-19 pandemic recorded during the UK lockdown, Dr Emma Hart (University of Pennsylvania, formerly University of St Andrews) talks about how the pandemic caused her to reflect differently on the 18th-century diarists she studies, and Dr Kate Ferris (University of St Andrews) discusses how the insights and conceptual tools of everyday life history can be used to interpret the furore over the Scotch egg and the "substantial meal".

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. To learn more about the wider project, visit: https://arts.st-andrews.ac.uk/everyday-dictatorship/

Miniatures Episode 9 - Everyday Life in Pandemic 1: Time, Diarists, and the Scotch Egg

Trumpet Tune – Henry Purcell (1659–95)

The Prince of Denmark’s March – Jeremiah Clarke (c.1674 – 1707)

Trumpet Voluntary – John Stanley (1712–86)

Bridal March from Lohengrin – Richard Wagner (1813–83)

Air from Orchestral Suite no. 3 – J.S. Bach (1685–1750)

Canon in D – Johann Pachelbel (c.1674 – 1707)

The Swan – Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921)

Arrival of the Queen of Sheba – George Frederic Handel (1685–1759)

Wedding March from A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809–47)

Toccata from Symphony no. 5 – Charles-Marie Widor (1844–1937)

Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring – J.S. Bach

Hornpipe from Water Music – George Frederic Handel

Male a

Male b

CTLTP Recording 1 - Language

In episode two of the Generation Pandemic Podcast we compare the social policy responses to the pandemic in the UK and Ireland. We look at the significance of the policy landscapoe pre-COVID-19, what was implemented, and the impact of the different schemes on individuals, families and children. We discuss the longer term policy legacy of the pandemic response and how this might inform our reaction to further crises such as climate change. Joining podcast host, Catherine McDonald, are Dr Rod Hick from the University of Cardiff and Professor Mary Murphy from the University of Ireland, Maynooth.

Comparing social policy responses to COVID-19 - the UK and Ireland

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 here: https://icgc.umn.edu/nicholas-nyachega

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/

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

In this episode, we explore the rich and diverse traditions of knowledge creation that have shaped the field of education. Building on the foundational ideas from Episode 1, we dive into three key traditions: the academic knowledge tradition, the practical knowledge tradition, and the integrated knowledge tradition. Each of these traditions represents a unique way of thinking about what knowledge is, how it’s created, and how it can be applied to teaching and learning. 

Along the way, we’ll break down complex ideas like ontology and epistemology in simple terms, helping you reflect on your own beliefs about what counts as knowledge and how we can generate useful insights about teaching and learning. Whether you’re a teacher, an educational leader, or administrator, or thinking about a career in an educational field, this episode offers a thoughtful look at how research communities shape our approaches to education—and how you might find your place within these traditions. 

Tune in to gain a clearer understanding of these knowledge traditions and how they influence the way we think about teaching, research, and professional development. 

Episode 2: Research Traditions in the Discipline of Education

In this final episode of the podcast course, we bring everything together, exploring the personal and professional journey of engaging with research. We start by creating a personal definition of research, grounded in the idea that research is a social process situated within communities of practice. The episode also delves into autoethnography—a reflective research method that has been central to this podcast—and breaks down how it can be used to examine the relationship between research and professional identity. 

Through sharing personal experiences, connections to key literature, and theory, this episode invites you not only to reflect on your own professional identity and the role research plays in it, but to use autoethnography as a tool to help you in this reflective process. Whether you're part of the EAP community, another area of higher education, or an entirely different professional group, the tools and ideas discussed here aim to spark your thinking about how your experiences and the communities you're part of shape your approach to research. 

Tune in for a reflective, practical, and thought-provoking conclusion to the series! 

Episode 5: How to Explore the Role of Research in your own Professional Identity

In this episode, we reflect on how the positioning of professional groups within higher education impacts individual identities and professional growth. Drawing on personal experiences within the English for Academic Purposes (EAP) community, I explore how working in UK higher education has challenged and reshaped my sense of professional identity—particularly in relation to research. 

Through examining differences in group norms, status, and traditions of knowledge creation, this episode highlights the tension between teaching and research-focused identities. While the discussion centres on my experiences in the EAP community, listeners are encouraged to use this as a springboard to reflect on their own professional groups, where they find belonging, and how research fits into their collective and individual professional identities. 

If you’ve ever grappled with questions about where you belong in your professional landscape or how research aligns with your role, this episode will provide valuable insights and invite you to reflect on your own journey. Tune in to explore how professional identity evolves in response to community, context, and connection. 

Episode 4: Situating Research in your Professional Identity

 In the first episode of this podcast series, we embark on an exploratory journey into a fundamental question: What is research, and what does it mean for our professional identities? Through personal reflections, we unpack how research can be a deeply personal process, a means to solve immediate challenges, and a way to contribute to our professional communities and broader circles of influence. 

We discuss how research isn’t a detached or isolated activity but rather a collaborative and social process, shaped by the values, beliefs, and norms of the communities we’re part of. Drawing on key concepts like reflective practice and the widening circles of impact, this episode delves into how research connects us to others and enables us to engage in meaningful conversations within and across our professional landscapes. 

Whether you’re grappling with what research means to you, or simply curious about how research and professional identity intertwine, this episode sets the stage for a reflective and thought-provoking series. 

Episode 1: What is Research in Education?

In this episode, we use the English for Academic Purposes (EAP) community as a case study to explore how professional groups situate research within their identities. While the EAP group might not be directly relevant to every listener, it offers a valuable example of how professional communities navigate questions of status, group norms, and the evolving role of research. 

We’ll delve into the social identity approach, examining how the relative status of professional groups in UK higher education influences their priorities and identities. Specifically, we explore how EAP practitioners balance their teaching-focused identity with the research-driven norms of the higher education landscape.  

This episode invites listeners to reflect on their own professional groups, using the EAP example as a springboard to analyse and interpret how their communities view and integrate research. Whether you’re part of higher education or another educational field, this discussion offers tools to better understand the social and professional dynamics shaping your work. 

Episode 3: Research and Collective Professional Identities

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/

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

St Salvator’s Chapel Choir, University of St Andrews, Claire Innes-Hopkins (director)

The Piper o' Dundee (Preview)

Arran Boat Song (Preview)

Caledonia (Preview)

Wild Mountain Thyme (Preview)

Annie Laurie (Preview)

Auld Lang Syne (Preview)

I love my love (Preview)

Scotland the Brave (Preview)

Ae fond kiss (Preview)

"The flyting of Kennedy & Dunbar" from Stanza 2013

The Flyting Of Kennedy & Dunbar

Lost Detectives Podcast - Episode 1

We all experience everyday life – but just what exactly is it? Dr Kate Ferris and Dr Huw Halstead discuss what it means to study ‘everyday life’ in the past and why this is such an engaging yet challenging kind of history. They are joined by special guests Prof Claire Langhamer (University of Sussex), Dr Claire Eldridge (University of Leeds), Prof John Bennet (British School at Athens/University of Sheffield), Dr Nikos Papadogiannis (Bangor University), Dr Claudio Hernández-Burgos (University of Granada), and Dr Joshua Arthurs (West Virginia University).

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. To learn more about the wider project, visit: https://arts.st-andrews.ac.uk/everyday-dictatorship/

Miniatures Episode 1 – What Is Everyday Life?

What’s the secret to everyday happiness? Prof Claire Langhamer (University of Sussex) joins us to discuss this question as well as love, agony aunts, the concept of ‘ordinary people’, and the importance of reliable stationary.

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. To learn more about the wider project, visit: https://arts.st-andrews.ac.uk/everyday-dictatorship/

Season 1

Miniatures Episode 3 – The Secret to Happiness: Everyday Emotions with Claire Langhamer

Archives may be dusty places, but as Dr Claire Eldridge (University of Leeds) shows us they are far from being dry and emotionless ones. Drawing on her research on Algerian history and French colonialism, Claire discusses first how two groups of postcolonial migrants from Algeria to France remember the colonial past, and second what we can learn about soldiers’ lives during the First World War from the records of military tribunals.

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. To learn more about the wider project, visit: https://arts.st-andrews.ac.uk/everyday-dictatorship/

Miniatures Episode 6 – Stealing 99 Bottles of Alcohol: Military Tribunals & Memory Activism

What’s it like to live in a country dealing with the traumatic aftermath of a genocide? And in a country that also criminalises most public expressions or discussions of ethnicity? Dr Meghan Laws (St Andrews) joins us to talk about her work in Rwanda and the ‘hidden transcripts’ of ethnicity that lie beneath the surface of the official ‘ethnic amnesia’.

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. To learn more about the wider project, visit: https://arts.st-andrews.ac.uk/everyday-dictatorship/

Miniatures Episode 7 – When Ethnicity Is Taboo: Everyday Ethnicity in Rwanda with Dr Meghan Laws

St Andrews is Scotland's first university and the third oldest in the English speaking world, founded in 1413.

University of St Andrews

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