Oral History for Social Change
Groundswell is a dynamic network of oral historians, activists, cultural workers, community organizers, and documentary artists.
We're thrilled to introduce you to two new members of our Groundswell team. Amaka Okechukwu (a core member of our GS2015 planning team this past year) will be joining Sarah Loose as one of our Co-Coordinators and Maggie Von Vogt has come on board as Groundswell's new Blog Coordinator!
Read MoreGroundswell needs a logo. Something evocative (even provocative, perhaps). Something that says: oral history. social justice. a listening revolution. Might be edgy, might be thoughtful...
Read MoreIn this interview, Amy describes how she incorporates an anti-oppression framework into both her teaching, as a professor of Columbia's Masters program in Oral History, as well as her own projects. In particular, she describes the importance of engaging in a process of ongoing consent and the interviewer's responsibility to reflect on and gauge their power and privilege in an interviewer/interviewee dynamic.
Read MoreBecome an Official Sponsor for Groundswell's 2015: Oral History for Movement Building Network Gathering, June 17-18th, Detroit, MI!
Read MoreJoin Groundswell Oregon on Tuesday, April 7th at the University of Oregon Turnbull Center in Portland, OR for a social justice oral history listening party - Listen Hard: Stories of Resistance and Resilience (and a special "Democratizing the Voice of History" pre-workshop on using a smartphone to capture oral history)!
Read MoreIn this PSN chat we will share and brainstorm strategies for using oral history to document movements against police brutality and the experiences of the families and communities impacted by police brutality. Here, we can discuss different strategies for involving community members in this oral history work, supporting movements on the ground, and publicizing patterns of police brutality through alternative media.
Read MoreOral historians and other storytellers focusing on feminism and gender justice come together to talk about our work and ways in which we can learn from each other. In this talk, you can share your experiences on working with narratives to advance feminism and strategize with colleagues on best practices.
Read MoreHow do you build anti-oppression principles into your project from its inception onward? In this PSN chat we will be discussing the design phase of oral history projects and sharing our thoughts and experiences on how anti-oppression can be built into project proposals.
Read MoreAs oral historians continue to develop their collective audio editing skills and editing audio at the request of a narrator has become feasible for many, an issue has arisen for which there seems to be no standard in the field. Should we show where an interviewee has edited a transcript or audio tape? If so, how? If not, why not?
Read MoreWhat does it mean to approach the pre-interview process from an anti-oppression framework? in this chat, we’ll dig deep into the heart of “informed consent”, looking at the kinds of conversations that narrators, interviewers and other oral history project participants/stakeholders might have with each other before an interview takes place.
Read MoreIn this PSN video chat, we will reflect on how the (real and/or perceived) identities of narrators and interviewers can impact and play out in the interview space. We'll explore how OH interviewers can offer narrators a safe space to define and interpret oppression in their daily life or in their activism...
Read MoreIn this PSN video chat, we will bring together activists, artists, geographers, academics and oral historians to share and brainstorm strategies for using oral history for housing justice, with a particular focus on how oral history can be used in the context of gentrification to build understanding and support resistance.
Read MoreIn this chat, we will bring together activists, artists, academics and oral historians to share and brainstorm strategies for using oral history for migrant justice. We’ll explore challenges that may arise (e.g. interpretation/translation, publicness and immigration status, access to detention centers, cross-border dimensions) and consider...
Read MoreDon't reinvent the wheel. If we don't know our history, we're condemned to repeat it. History is a weapon of the oppressed. Part of the promise of oral history for organizers, activists and movement leaders is to help us learn from the success and mistakes of our movement elders. But how does that happen?
Read MoreThis recent article from In These Times features Groundswell and the social justice oral history projects of several Groundswell members!
Read MoreThe notion of ongoing consent: allyship is meant to be a process without a specific endpoint. Just as our “ally” card expires at the end of the day, so, too, does that informed consent form expire at the end of that phase or segment of the oral history project...
Read MoreIn what ways has the Belfast case made you examine your own work? Are there certain things we should not be recording at all? There are terrible political implications of not recording… then there is the option of telling people the risks, how it could be used, how we don’t have control
Read MoreBasic premise: narrators who come from and share stories of communities who have been historically oppressed and marginalized have the right to decide how, with whom, and towards what ends their stories are shared and retold.
Read MoreOral historians gathered in Madison, Wisconsin over the weekend not just for the famous cheese and beer, but because Madison has deep roots in social activism and grassroots movements.
Read MoreHello Groundswell community! My name is Sarah Hollingsworth, a recent graduate of California State University Monterey Bay and a new blog coordinator for Groundswell. I now attend Columbia University’s Oral History Master of Arts program. My experience with oral history runs deep into the Salinas Valley, where I conducted oral history interviews with the unique homeless population that camps and lives in Chinatown. If you would like to hear more about my project, Oral Histories of Chinatown: Embracing the Street, come join me and other oral history practitioners at The Oral History Association’s annual meeting in Madison, Wisconsin from October 8-12.
Groundswell is now a part of my story. Whether highlighting the perils of economic inequality or re-writing a history that has been erased, whatever the social justice controversy may be: Groundswell supports creating space for the oral history interview to encourage social change. My hope it to develop the blog as a way to share the ideas, strategies and stories of practitioners using oral history to support social justice.
I believe in oral history and in the power of the interview to uncover the nuances of inequality and discrimination hidden in our society. I hope that the blog will bring interested individuals and communities together to talk about how people are using the oral history interview for social change and to look at the often unique and unconventional methods and strategies used by this growing community.
To complete my first blog post I want to share my experience participating in the first session of the Anti-Oppression PSN (practitioner support network) chat series that took off in September. A group of about 8 practitioners discussed oral history projects taking place throughout the nation. We engaged in dialogue about anti-oppression principles that should guide our work as we make decisions about how to use and apply oral history interviews. Please join the next PSN on Friday, October 24th! Registration details can be found on the Groundswell website. The Practitioner Support Network is dedicated to creating space to meet, discuss important issues and share ideas related to our work. Please join this next PSN and see what others in the Groundswell community are doing!
I welcome you stay tuned each Monday for our next blog installment, please feel free to share your ideas, suggestions and feedback!
Sarah