Topic paragraph

Research Question: How can shared authority positively impact exhibitions surrounding first hand narratives?

As I try to connect my project more to museum theories, I have been looking into oral history narratives and how shared authority can be executed and in what ways. I want to create an oral history and photograph project. I want to help facilitate a conversation surrounding black women and their hair. I want them to share their experience on how their hair has shaped their lives. Whether in corporal world or in society in general (still fleshing that out) and give insight to the heavier political stance of natural hair.

The first source is from Michael Frisch who argued that shared authority wasn't just an artistic choice but necessary to good oral history and narrative moving forward within institutions. Frisch argued that oral and public historians must share authority with their narrators, not give it up to them. How does this theory work when it's independent of an archive of objects and more of an oral exhibition. 

The second source is from the National Council of Public History. It's a piece from the Radical Roots which is a collective research project which mission is to "conceptualize the relationships between archival, public, and radical oral history". They dig into the importance of shared authority in different mediums within museums and other institutions. 

The third source is from the Oral History in Liberal Arts organization. On the website are many projects surround oral history. One that peaked my interest was the Haitian Identity Formation Project by Jules Desroches. His project was to interview people from the Haitian Diaspora on race, gender, and nationality to better understand how Haitian viewed themselves in society. It is a great example of oral history and shared authority as each person uploaded their own videos and had the opportunity to have a say in editing. 

Sources:
1. Frisch, Michael H. A Shared Authority: Essays on the Craft and Meaning of Oral and Public History. State University of New York Press, 2011.
2.Shopes, Linda, and Amy Starecheski. “Disrupting Authority: The Radical Roots and Branches of Oral History.” National Council on Public History, https://ncph.org/history-at-work/disrupting-authority-the-radical-roots-and-branches-of-oral-history/.
3. Desroches, Jules. “Haitian Identity Formation Project.” Oral History in the Liberal Arts, 17 June 2018, http://ohla.info/haitian-identity-formation-project/.