The Art of Oral Storytelling and Finding Historical Narratives

Elevating Voices

The human voice, carrying with it all its emotion and intent, tells us how someone feels about a situation, what their perspective might be, and helps to illuminate details that might otherwise go unacknowledged. In that sense, oral history is a beautiful display of all the nuances of a subject that might be otherwise at risk of being flattened, misinterpreted, or neglected. Thus,      oral history is especially vital today for elevating the voices of marginalised people and communities who have historically been excluded from mainstream narratives; including queer communities, women, people from the global majority, working classes, and others. Those who are furthest away from traditional forms of power, often have the most to gain from being empowered by oral documentation.

Afro-Caribbean Histories

From an Afro-Caribbean perspective, oral storytelling has served as a lifeline for hundreds of years, and especially during some of humanity’s worst horrors. It has historically been used as a way to traverse one’s physical surroundings, and maintain a connection with cultural traditions and practices. What makes oral history and storytelling so powerful, is how it has and continues to be used to disrupt power dynamics. In African and Caribbean cultures, throughout the periods of the transatlantic slave trade and colonialism, oral storytelling could be used very purposefully as a way to pass on information at a time when access to education and the written word was denied. It was used as a means for survival, upliftment, entertainment and community care. In today’s world, with its persisting inequalities, there is still that need to work to fill in the gaps, and recover stories which have previously been hidden.

An Interdisciplinary Practice

There are all kinds of misconceptions around what oral history is, and this is where it is important to consider the interdisciplinary and fluid nature of it. It is true that oral history is a serious practice, requiring preparation, consideration, care and transparency for the subjects involved. But it is also a practice that encourages creativity and endless possibilities! For example, let’s consider just how many forms oral history and storytelling comes in – from music, books and poetry, to recorded audio clips and podcasts, documentaries, conversations, family storytelling sessions, theatre. The list goes on.

Uncovering Lost History

Where history is concerned, oral storytelling has been used to recover aspects of a history that were otherwise being documented wholly inaccurately and many historical projects have been designed for these purposes. An example of this is the AFAS Oral History Project, which seeks to document the lives of ‘ordinary African men and women’ in the 20th century, and counter the narratives provided by colonialist written documentation. Another example is the ‘Fighting SUS Project’, which was set up to document the fight to end discriminatory Stop and Search practices in British policing, of which Black women played a leading role during the 1970s and 1980s. As an underappreciated topic in British history, without recording the first-hand accounts of those involved, there was a danger that this important site of activism would have been excluded from historical memory. It was for this reason, the Fighting SUS project dubbed it as ‘the history they want us to forget’. Exactly who wants us to forget, and why, is a bigger discussion. There is, in this way, a certain urgency involved in oral history and storytelling practices. It’s true that without proper recognition of their significance, oral narratives could leave this world without being passed onto future generations.

Preserving Our Oral Histories

So, what can we do to encourage the preservation and expansion of oral history and storytelling practices? The first thing to remember is that this is a practice that can involve everyone! We all possess the necessary skills of being able to relate to the human experience. It's about knowing where to start: what are the main themes of your story or project, what background research do these themes require, who do you want to involve, and what do you want to achieve with your narrative (i.e. the medium)? Breaking it down into stages, like with anything in life, makes it a much simpler and less overwhelming task. There is also the requirement of inspiration! So consider whether there are any stories you’ve been told by colleagues, friends or family members that have moved you? What was it about these stories that provoked such a strong emotion? How did the story connect to a particular location or era? What did you learn from it, and why is it important that the story gets told? The best way to approach history is by asking these kinds of questions.

The Course

Our course on Oral Storytelling and Historical Narratives has been designed specifically to help students create their own oral narratives, to research periods of history significant to them, to expand their understanding of storytelling and use historical context to inspire their fictional character arcs. With creative writing exercises, engaging group discussions and opportunities to practise our own oral storytelling techniques, this course will leave you with a greater understanding of the power of using our voices to bridge the gaps in our histories.

There are a handful of places left, and we can’t wait to meet you.