Journal of Geography in Higher Education, Vol. 25, No. 2, 2001, pp. 191– 208 Moving with the Times: an oral history of a geography department ALAN JENKINS, Oxford Brookes University, UK ANDREW WARD, Freelance Writer ABSTRACT The 30-year story of the geography department at Oxford Brookes University is presented as an oral history in the words of the experienced full-time staff. The department has gained a reputation in the UK and beyond for innovative active- learning methods and its story is an example of how a pedagogic culture can develop in a geography department. The story can also be read as a case study of a workplace in higher education, or as a contribution to the history of education. Most importantly, though, it offers insight into the key factors concerning the development of innovative teaching practice. KEYWORDS Oral history, geography, teaching, higher education, innovation, change, workplace culture. Introduction For over 30 years, the geography department staff at Oxford Brookes University (formerly Oxford Polytechnic) have worked hard to develop appropriate teaching strategies. What follows is an edited account of their story using the words of the staff themselves. Our approach relies heavily on the methods of oral history (Thompson, 1988; Perks & Thomson, 1998), narrative psychology (Reissman, 1993) and ethnography (Atkinson, 1990; Coffey & Atkinson, 1996). Geographers have used such qualitative methods to study the development of their discipline (Buttimer, 1983; Billinge et al., 1984; Sidaway, 1997), gender and professional identity among physical geographers (Madge & Bee, 1999) and the relationship between geographers’ personal and professional lives (Monk, 2000). McDowell (1994, p. 241) argued that qualitative research is relevant to the practice of teaching geography, in that it gives space for student voices to be heard. Here we make a parallel point: qualitative research also allows staff voices to be heard. ISSN 0309– 8265 print/ISSN 1466– 1845 online/01/020191 – 18 Ó 2001 Taylor & Francis Ltd DOI: 10.1080/03098260120067655