Life history and life writing research uses life story - whether in the form of oral history, personal narrative, autobiography or biography - as a primary source for the study of history and culture.

Life history and life writing research uses life story - whether in the form of oral history, personal narrative, autobiography or biography - as a primary source for the study of history and culture. Life stories capture the relation between the individual and society, the local and the national, the past and present and the public and private experience. Research involves grappling with theories of memory, relationship and self representation, and with debates about literacy and orality. Many disciplines contribute to the field, including history, sociology, anthropology, literary philosophy, cultural studies and psychology. Life history and life writing researchers present their work in many forms. As well as academic publications, we contribute to radio and television documentaries, auto/biographical drama, reminiscence work, digital and video presentations and exhibitions. Life history and life writing research is, of necessity, concerned with ethics and power relationships, and with the potential for advocacy and empowerment.

Our next free event:

Shades of HERstory: Exploring women's influence on colour through history

Thursday 21 March 2024, 7pm-8.30pm GMT
Online, hosted by the German Colour Association (DFZ)

Free, tickets here.

Shades of HERstory: Exploring Women’s Influence on Colour Through History

The DFZ is delighted to offer a new format for this colour conversation: a joint presentation by German-British museum curator and author Dr. Alexandra Loske (who is also a new DFZ board member for Colour Theory and Colour Literature) and US-American artist Brece Honeycutt.

Registration is essential as spaces are limited.

Questions please contact E  A.Loske@sussex.ac.uk

 

Other recent events:

Making Something from Nothing: A CLHLWR-Doctoral workshop

Wds 6 December 2023, 3pm-5pm
Silverstone Building (Room 302), University of Sussex 

Free, in-person, all welcome, disabled access. Drinks and nibbles.

Can we develop research about absence? Discover the beauty of negative findings, lost opportunities, impossible selves, unlived experience. 

Making Something

We heardfrom Professor Susie Scott, Principal Investigator to the Narratives of Nothing Leverhume Research Project. Susie’s work includes an interest in nothingness, shyness, embarrassment, boredom, stage fright/performance anxiety, total institutions, asexuality, politeness, surprise. Augusto Corrieri, the creator of Gambini, uses research-by-practice methods to explore how magic, as a ‘popular’ form of entertainment, can be approached and dissected through performance art and meta-theatre.

Participants then enjoyed the opportunity to play with our own work in ‘turning nothing into something’ (that can be funded). Prof Margaretta Jolly facilitated.