This 4-day workshop will train participants in the art of writing about oral history. Beginning with an oral history interview that urges the practice of deep listening, this workshop will focus on ways of attending to the storytelling strategies that people employ when speaking about their lives.
The workshop will begin by focusing on theories of orality, memory and the nature of remembering, all of which participants will be encouraged to reflect on when they conduct their interviews. The practice of oral history demands an engagement with spoken memories, with subjectivity and feelings, rather than objective truth. Participants will also explore the ways in which photographs enable subjects to remember the past.
Through practical engagements, the workshop will enable participants to transform spoken words into written ones, focusing on the cultural context of language, and finally, explore the choices we make when writing about the oral history interview.
HIGHLIGHTS
⦁ Orality, memory and time; photographs as memory probes?
⦁ Choices we make when transforming spoken to written language.
⦁ Curating interviews.
⦁ Writing non-fiction and fiction based on oral history.
ABOUT THE TUTOR
Indira Chowdhury is Director of the Centre for Public History at the Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology, Bengaluru. Formerly Professor of English at Jadavpur University, Kolkata, she has a PhD in History from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. Her book The Frail Hero and Virile History (OUP, 1998) was awarded the Tagore Prize in 2001. For the last decade, she has been building oral history archives for academic institutions, NGOs and corporates. She is a Council Member of the International Oral History Association and was instrumental in creating the first Oral History Association of India. Indira is a founding member of the International Editorial Board of the journal Oral History, and is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Palgrave Studies of Oral History.
WHO SHOULD APPLY?
This workshop is designed for writers, photographers, artists and anyone who is interested in oral history and the use of the interview as a research tool. Also for history, literature, journalism and media students.
WORKSHOP DETAILS
Date: 27-30 October 2015
Venue: Sundhara House
Time: 9 am – 2 pm (Except on the last day)
Language: English
No. of participants: 15 max.
APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
⦁ Application form (please rename the file as your full name)
⦁ Updated CV
⦁ Please email the above mentioned to workshops@photoktm.com. Subject of your email should be the title of the workshop.
The participants should also bring the following to the workshop:
⦁ Personal laptop
⦁ A set of photographs from their family albums
WORKSHOP FEE: Rs. 4,000 + 13% VAT (Inclusive of all workshop material and refreshments)
DEADLINE: 18 October 2015
THIS WORKSHOP HAS BEEN MADE POSSIBLE BY THE KIND SUPPORT OF
