common
knowledge a professional collective
for the common good

can lost history be crowdsourced?

Well, we’ll see. Specifically in this case of the “trashing of material” from the Ruskin College archives:

Why a database?
We are very aware that the lives of many former Ruskin students have been recorded in prestigious biographical collections such as the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography or in the various volumes of the Dictionary of Labour Biography. But such existing material has never been gathered together in one, searchable, place.
We are also very conscious, of course, of the important contributions former Ruskin students have made to the lives of their countries and communities and families – contributions that have yet to be publicly recorded and memorialised collectively.

I’m proud to have been asked to develop (what it is to be hoped may turn out to only be the prototype for) the newruskinarchives launched today:

Press Release: Launch of newruskinarchives

This website is a collective archive bringing together in one site information about former students – alive and dead – who were students at Ruskin College, Oxford since its inception in 1899.

Obviously within commonKnowledge’s networks we’re likely to know of former students of Ruskin College – hopefully this news will reach them and they’ll be encouraged to help crowdsource their own lost history.