Tag Archives: reflection

Reflecting on ‘Voices from the Picket Line’: Vox Pops

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You may have heard that some UK universities, including Newcastle, are involved in a pensions dispute (see https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/newcastle-durham-university-strikes-begin-14323108 for just one of the Chronicle articles on this issue).

As oral historians, we are always interested in hearing people’s voices–literally as well as figuratively. We knew that the experience of 14 days of striking had been a significant one for many other those involved–we knew through our own informal conversations, through Twitter posts (see the #USSstrikes hashtag for some of this), and indeed through our own varied experiences. But when we decided, on Monday 12 March, that we would take our recording equipment the next day’s picket, we had no idea what was about to happen.

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Recording of Portelli: ‘Reflecting on a life in progress and the stories of oral history’

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Reflecting on a life in progress and the stories of oral history

Professor Portelli at the launch of the Oral History Unit and Collective at Newcastle, 10 January 2018.

Professor Portelli at the launch of the Oral History Unit and Collective at Newcastle, 10 January 2018.

To relisten to Alessandro Portelli’s recent lecture, please click here.

 

Public Lecture: Reflecting on a Life in Progress and the Stories of Oral History

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Public Lecture All welcome. Admission free.
Register here

Launch of the Oral History Collective and Unit @ Newcastle
Wednesday 10 January, 5.30 pm
Curtis Auditorium, Herschel Building,
Newcastle University

Professor Alessandro Portelli
Professor of American Literature Sapienza, University of Rome
Alessandro Portelli has played a leading role in transforming oral history. Through a number of key studies, he has promoted an appreciation of oral history as a literary genre that throws light on the significance of subjectivity in history. By interpreting the themes and structures of eyewitness testimony, Portelli has consistently demonstrated new ways of understanding memory. In this lecture Portelli reflects on his work to date, illustrating his intellectual journey with reference to the stories of the personal, and the historical, victories and defeats that have inspired his critical contribution.