Memories of childhood: Oral history and the psychology of memory by Steve Newstead 7pm
In this talk Steve Newstead will discuss his recent attempts to capture the life stories of people who have spent most of their lives in Devon, and can recall their experiences from as early as the 1930s. He will summarise some of the things we have learned from their recollections and will put this in the context of what we know from the scientific study of memory. For example, we know that memories are seldom absolutely accurate, and are often reconstructed from incomplete information. Does this mean that we have to take all oral histories with a pinch of salt, or are there some aspects that we can rely on with confidence?
Steve is now retired but spent most of his career in the School of Psychology at the University of Plymouth. His expertise is mostly in the area of cognitive psychology, which includes topics such as thinking, problem solving and memory. He is the author of nearly a hundred learned papers, book chapters and books. He is a former President of the national body representing Psychology, the British Psychological Society, and has served on many national committees. Towards the end of his career he became Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Plymouth and served as interim Vice-Chancellor for several months. He became a volunteer at the Devon Rural Archive in 2024.
A Season Ticket to attend all 11 lectures in our 2025 programme is also available from this website.
Should you need to you can also purchase tickets over the telephone on 01548 830832. By purchasing a ticket you will be subscribing to the DRA Friends mailing list and will receive regular updates about our work and events, but you can unsubscribe at any time.
The Shilstone Café will be open between 6pm and 7pm for drinks and cake.
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Where we are
Devon Rural Archive, Shilstone, Modbury, Devon, PL21 0TW
Call us: 01548 830832
Email us: archive@shilstonedevon.co.uk
