Practicing Critical Oral History
Practicing Critical Oral History: Connecting School and Community provides ways and words for educators to use critical oral history in their classroom and communities in order to put their students and the voices of people from marginalized communities at the center of their curriculum to enact change.
Clearly and concisely written, this book offers a thought-provoking overview of how to use stories from those who have been underrepresented by dominant systems to identify a critical topic, engage with critical processes, and enact critical transformative-justice outcomes. Critical oral history both writes and rights history, so that participants—both interviewers and narrators—in critical oral history projects aim to contextualize stories and make the voices and perspectives of those who have been historically marginalized heard and listened to.
Supplemented throughout with sample activities, lesson-plan outlines, tables, and illustrative figures, Practicing Critical Oral History: Connecting School and Community is an essential resource for all those interested in integrating the techniques of critical oral history into an educational setting.
Christine K. Lemley is an Associate Professor in the College of Education at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, AZ, USA. Her work focuses on social justice and equity issues, primarily with Indigenous and undocumented populations. She uses critical oral history to address issues of power, structure, and agency to amplify unheard (or unlistened to) voices.