Talking about Homelessness: A teaching and research initiative in East London

This article discusses a teaching and research initiative in which 12 third-year undergraduate students and a lecturer worked as volunteers at a local drop-in centre for homeless men and women, and subsequently conducted 49 life history interviews there. Students were asked to keep a diary, recording field observations and reflections on stories told, and to write a paper based on analysis and interpretation of interview transcripts. They were encouraged to think about relationships between the researcher and researched, and the ways in which accounts of the past are constructed. Overall, the initiative produced several positive outcomes. The lecturer was able to design and conduct an oral history research project, and write academic papers based on original data. Students learned about methodological issues through the process of actually participating in and documenting primary research and experienced working in the voluntary sector. Consequently, they also began to think more broadly about the range of employment possibilities open to them. Ongoing communication and a working relationship was established between university personnel and a local voluntary sector organisation. Drop-in centre staff began to perceive future benefits in working with university staff--in terms of making further use of research skills and access to a pool of potential volunteers.