Registration for our November and December Practitioner Support Network Video chats is now open!

Learning from our Elders: Interviewing Activists from Past Generations

Thursday, November 17, 3-4:15 PM EST

Co Facilitated by: Cindy Choung & Rachel Bernstein

Implicit in the word activist is a commitment to transmitting values across generations. This PSN Chat will discuss the methods, rewards, and challenges of oral history interviewing with our elders.

What are the challenges involved in interviewing elders? How can the life review process, often so intense, be most productive in an oral history interview? Are there dangers of young activists finding too many parallels in the stories they gather? What is the emotional fall-out for interviewers and interviewees in this situation -- where the stories narrated can be passionately felt and often fraught, for one or both of the people involved. For this discussion we welcome interviewers of all ages, both those who have experiences interviewing elder activists, those interested in the prospect of doing so, and those who have been interviewed.

Eventbrite - Learning from our Elders: Interviewing Activists from Past Generations

NEW: What's Next? Doing Oral History for Social Justice in the Age of Trump

Thursday, December 1, 2-3:15 PM EST

Co-Facilitated by: Amy Starecheski & Sarah K. Loose

More details soon.

Eventbrite - What's Next? Doing Oral History for Social Justice in the Age of Trump

Oral History, Art & Activism: A Radical Mix for Social Change

Friday, December 2, 3-4:15 PM EST

Co-Facilitated by: Leyla Vural & Eylem Delikankli

Frederick Douglass said that “power concedes nothing without a demand.” We’re interested in the many creative ways that oral history can help make that demand. Oral history interviews inspire painters and poets, playwrights and podcasters, protestors alike. How can the first-person stories we collect and the ways we share them engage communities working for change and confront the status quo? What are the possibilities for co-creation and collaboration when oral history, art, and activism inspire each other? How do we channel our collective imagination and creativity to share knowledge, demand fairness, and make real change happen? How does our work inform our strategies to achieve social change and, more importantly, how we define social change?

This discussion is for anyone interested in the nexus between oral history, art of any kind, and activism. We’ll share experiences from work we’ve done and share ideas for how to push the bounds of oral history and creativity even further in our drive for social change.