Neve Meats

I’m a current Sociology PhD student with a background in English Language with French (BA Hons), Library and Archive Studies (MA) and Sociological Research (MSc). My PhD will allow me to combine my research interests within sociology and library and archive studies as I’ll be looking at the materiality and creativity of the Mass Observation archival material to understand how we write about everyday life. One area I’m particularly interested in the interplay between material objects and relationships and how object agency can bring about effects in our interpersonal relationships. My MA dissertation centred around donors' affective ties to material which they donate to archival institutions, explicitly focusing on the emotional and trauma-related aspects of this process by interviewing pairs of archivists and donors who collaborated on a shared donation. For my MSc dissertation, I shifted my focus to more explicitly studying object agency in relationships, examining how object acquisition, use and disposal are inherently connected to and affecting towards the kinship ties they result from. I used Mass Observation data for this research (responses to the 1988 Objects about the house directive) and it formed a pilot project for my PhD. I am excited to continue my research with this invaluable resource and undertake a placement at The Keep (home of Mass Observation) during my studies.

Supervisors

Dr Andrew Balmer (Sociology)

Prof Sophie Woodward (Sociology)

Dr Benjamin Wiggins (Library and Archive Studies)

Kirsty Pattrick (Mass Observation)