Register for Memory, Ethics, Affect, Trauma Workshop

A workshop on doing oral history under difficult circumstances.

Thursday April 4, 2024
11:00AM–1:00PM

Location: 4th Floor Conference Center
UWM Golda Meir Library
2311 E Hartford Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53211

This workshop will bring together students, scholars, and community experts around the topic of collecting, interpreting, and using oral histories and testimonies of people whose histories may be under-represented in mainstream media and scholarly archives. We are interested in discussing the ethics and ethical consideration of collecting oral histories of marginalized and underrepresented people. How do we collect these stories and what moral responsibilities do we hold?

Panelists will explore the emotional dimensions of memory-work, the affective process of engaging with the past—and its ethical and historical dimensions. Some of our panelists have worked with people recounting traumatic memories and difficult histories. What emotional impact does such interactions have on the interviewer and the interviewee? How do emotions impact our ethical role as researchers and historians?

The workshop will begin with short presentations by five panelists. They will speak on difficulties and pitfalls of this methods, ethical and affective imperatives that frame their practice, and offer tips on doing oral history. Then we will break up into moderated small group discussions with the panelists and students. We will end with a general discussion around the importance, implications, and relevance of working with oral histories.

See link for registration: https://uwm.edu/urban-studies/workshop-registration/