On the Doorstep

I discuss the disjuncture between supervising generations of students in the Warwick History Department who used the Modern Records Centre collections for research, and finally using the University archives myself for the purposes of researching how social history came to Warwick. I reflect on the role of administrative records - the University of Warwick’s own administrative records sequence (the ‘UWA’) held at the MRC in particular - and the role and identity of the worker within them. I further explore the relationship between Thompson and his research assistant E. E. Dodds, illuminating the ‘making of history’ through the use of paid work, which comes to light through the correspondence between them held as part of the University’s administrative records.