My placement at the Working Class Movement Library
Our current placement student, Ally Hussain, writes about their work at the library
I’m Ally, a third year student studying sociology, and currently on placement at the WCML. Prior to university, I had a massive interest in history, however, I lost this a bit through the education system due to how it was approached, and how institutional it was. As well as this, the lack of representation for me did not help with this, with the focus being on British, or Russian monarchy history. Being South Asian, queer, working-class, and disabled, history never reflected bits of my own identity when it was taught, and thus I lost interest.
Despite growing up and living in Greater Manchester, I hadn’t heard of the library, let alone visited before September 2024, where I began my journey as a Little Flame, in the Big Flame project. It was an incredible project to be a part of, and brought back my passion for history.
From starting in this placement in September, I’ve learnt quite a few new skills, tried new tasks, and have built a weekly routine. I’ve done quite a few different things including continuing with the Big Flame events planning (a role I had during the project), helping to write the library’s monthly newsletter, helping with social media, looking through archive materials, digitising some of the Grunwick Strike material, and been on the facilitator side of new projects, like the Grunwick Strike project.
In terms of archival material that I’ve looked at, it has been a mix, but my main focuses have been the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom (CPBF) boxes, and generally looking at material about the South Asian community. The library has a large collection of boxes for the CPBF, which have been so interesting to look at, especially for someone with an interest in media representation. Finding material on the South Asian community is a task that I really enjoy, and helps me feel connected to a history I am continuously learning about, and these archives. I hope to continue this, helping other people in the South Asian community to find out about our histories.
A one-off task project that I was involved in was the recording of the Big Flame podcast. It is a series of three podcasts, one in which I had a conversation with Big Flame member Seni Seneviratne. It was definitely one of my favourite things I’ve had the opportunity of doing in these past few months. The conversation was so insightful, and surrounded topics of identity and community between then, when Seni was growing up, and now, growing up in a world that is not as different as we thought it was.
Thus far, I have really enjoyed my placement. It has given me a lot of insight into potential career progressions, and what goes into working in an archive. As we reach the halfway point of my time at the library, I really hope my placement continues to be as fulfilling as it has been, learning about different groups in history, continuing to work on projects, trying new things, and picking up (and building on) new skills. Keep an eye out for future blog posts on projects I am doing or am involved in!