Use this oral history tool to inspire students. It is also the place for teachers to make suggestions. Others helpful comments are welcome. Here are the student learning outcomes (SLOs) for the college courses that are associated with this activity.
The basic Idea: To share stories of women.
For all writing and educational purposes: To share stories of all women because stories of women have been left out of the "truth."
- Gather historical stories of women in the Americas and in the Caribbean (English, French, Latin America, and South America, North America - US and Canada) involved in resistant movements.
- Jamaica - Nannytown
- Suriname - Boni
- South Carolina - Vesey
- Haiti - Touissaint L.
- Look into research that talks about resistance, identity, and self concept.
- To Learn about the time and the place and write fictionalized stories of women from the time (children's books are also possible).
Community College Course:
- Create a foreign study course that takes students to various areas (starting with the US (South Carolina), Canada (Tudman/Halifax, Nova Scotia), Mexico (Vera Cruz - the story of Yanga the rebellious African and people of Cuajiniquilapa) to collect the stories of contemporary women.
- Create questionnaire to find out how women identify and how they define their ideas of resistance (what are they resisting and why, how). The questionnaire should also focus and what women want to know about each other. For example, what would women of African descent in Barbados want to know about the women in Mexico?
- Students work together to create videos of contemporary women at work and the interviews. (Videos can be taken from place to place to work as “conversations” between women.)
- Students work together to edit videos to be used in the classroom as well as shared with other women in different communities - an exchange of culture and stories - a crossing of borders for women who cannot travel.
- Students work on oral histories and narrative essays to fulfill literacy requirements.
- Students create questionnaires to fulfill qualitative research ideas - oral histories.
- Working in groups, students can write children stories based on their interviews, and historical data, etc.
- Stories collected will be written with sound so that students at every stage will have access. Students can listen and read.
- At the end of each page or at certain points in the story, students will be directed to participate in a group project and/or personal project (prediction, etc. - working with instructor and peers - friends and family members, librarians) before continuing with the story. (Bloom's taxonomy will be used to concentrate on interpretation and critical thinking questions/reading.)
- Multiple words in the story (hyperlinks) will give students access to other sites to further their research and understanding of the story. For example, a student can explore the history, geography, resources, etc. of a country. An instructor to facilitate another branch of study/research.
- The site must have an area that will direct students in other places (states and countries) in the gathering of information/stories in their areas (families, neighborhoods, homes for the elderly, research the history of women in their communities, etc.).
- Site can have an area for students to send their stories for peer editing and for review of an instructor.
- Site must have an area for visitors' comments.
- Students must be encouraged to add their stories (with voice). They can include edited videos and photos (music if appropriate).