Oral History for Social Change
Groundswell is a dynamic network of oral historians, activists, cultural workers, community organizers, and documentary artists.
During this PSN chat, we invite you to listen to Desi and Wanjiru, as they map their different work experiences across diverse geographic regions, using oral histories as a successful platform for generating “text” for mural projects, and contemporary dance performances.
Read MoreThe question that frames this PSN chat points to an assumption of many oral history practitioners with social justice goals: that the interviews they conduct will always be in alignment with these goals.
Read MorePart II of this two-part PSN series will explore getting movement oral histories into the archives. What ethical and practical questions should oral historians, narrators, community members, and activists consider when working with or choosing an archive for their interviews?
Read MoreListening events can be an effective way to share oral histories and create public dialogue around them. However, they can also be challenging to organize/ How much audio can people sit and listen to?
Read MorePart I of this two-part series will focus on getting movement oral histories out of the archives and into the hands of organizers and activists.
Read MoreDear Groundswell friends,
We are excited to launch our Fall/Winter series of Groundswell’s Practitioner Support Network (PSN) video chats. It’s a great lineup!
Follow the links on each month’s chat for more details:
If you are interested in joining any of these video chats, please sign-up here. Note that participation is limited to 8 people per chat, so we encourage you to sign up soon!
The PSN is a safe, informal space for practitioners to discuss questions that come up in our work using oral history for movement-building and social change. We encourage you to propose a topic or question for a future PSN video chat!
Best,
Sarah, Amy, Mi’Jan & Rebecca
PSN Working Group
Groundswell is building our network by organizing local gatherings around the US to bring together folks who do oral history for social justice work at potlucks, skillshares, listening parties and public events.
Read MoreA chance to meet NYC-based oral historians and other practitioners using narrative/story methods to spur social change, learn about interesting local work, and socialize. We’ll spend some time hearing about each other’s stories and projects, and also discuss how Groundswell can best support social justice oral history work in the NYC area.
Read MoreIt started with a continuing studies class I was teaching at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. It was my hope that our class would delve into Durham’s long history of LGBTQ activism.
Read MoreThis project came out of a larger body of work led by Zeida-Lane Associates http://www.zeidalane.co.uk/index.php in which they worked alongside many people with learning disabilities navigating their way through making positive changes in their lives.
Read MoreIt’s not easy to talk about the death penalty in Texas in an open and non-judgmental way. It’s a polarized debate. For or against. Right or wrong.
Read MoreThis week I attended the annual conference of the American Alliance of Museums (AAM). Although I will be interning at a museum this summer and have done some relevant museum work, I attended the conference on my own and as a bit of an outsider. The idea of going to such a large conference alone and unaffiliated was a bit intimidating…but what encouraged me was the conference’s theme: The Power of Storytelling.
Read MoreI chose to participate in the Trans Tell Your Story Project as a way to preserve my history. This was very important to me because I was adopted as a child, yet have no connection to my biological or adoptive family.
Read MoreFrom the moment I met Bandana Rana in 2008, I sensed that we would work together. She runs SAATHI Nepal, which has for nearly twenty years been challenging violence and injustice against women at all levels of Nepalese society.
Read MoreIn her book Curating Oral Histories, Nancy MacKay quotes Geoff Froh, then Technical Manager of the online oral history project Denshō: “The drive to develop a sophisticated data model or deploy a ‘cool’ website can crowd out the underlying purpose of the project. We are about people telling their stories.
Read MoreI’m a journalist using oral history methods. I have no formal oral history training so I’m hoping Groundswell readers might be willing to offer me some advice on something.
Read MoreParticipatory action research provides a framework for co-research linked to action goals in the real world, using research to try to make changes that are important to the researchers. In participatory action research, collective inquiry is seen as inseparable from social action – understanding the world and changing it are linked.
Read MoreSince our initial meeting in 2011, Groundswell has been steadily building our network of social justice-oriented oral historians, activists, cultural workers, community organizers, and documentary artists.
Read MoreOn April 1, 2013 Amy Starecheski and Alexander Freund co-facilitated a Practitioner Support Network videoconference on oral history and participatory action research (PAR). Sara Kendall, Alisa del Tufo, Zoe West, Mi’Jan Celie Tho-Biaz, and Rebecca Lorins participated in the call. Alexander Freund, Co-Director of the new Oral History Centre at the University of Winnipeg, shared his recent experiences learning about PAR as he undertook a collaborative oral history project with Salvadoran immigrants to Manitoba.
Read MoreWhat is the PSN? Activists, organizers, cultural workers and oral historians who engage oral history as a method for movement-building and social change can confront challenging ethical and practical dilemmas in our work.
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