Catching Stories: Oral History for Health

How might oral testimony and personal stories enrich our understanding of the societal impact of infectious diseases in the 20th and 21st centuries? How might folklore and ethnology approaches and resources interact with public health and health education practice and vaccine hesitancy? The Cork Folklore Project has launched its ‘Catching Stories’ resource, which hosts oral testimony, disease and vaccination history, and social-historical ephemera relating to the theme. We will develop the project throughout 2021-2022, in collaboration with the public and health practitioners, in an exploration of what our materials and methods can bring to public health initiatives.