In February 2018, four of Behind the Wire’s films—featuring Behrouz Boochani, Hani Abdile, Munjed Al Muderis and Jamila Jafari—were projected on the facade of the National Gallery of Victoria International in Melbourne. The films were shown on a loop from dusk until dawn.
The work was a co-production of Behind the Wire and DAE White Night.
Behind the Wire is an oral history project about Australian immigration detention, comprising a book, podcast and exhibition. On 31st of May 2018, the exhibition – Stories From Detention – will open at Gee Lee Wik Doleen Gallery, in Craigieburn. It will open in Dandenong in October.
Happy laughs, quiet sobs, difficult silences and traumatic memories have always been the matter of Oral History. Emotions have played a key role in the theory and practice of Oral History. In recent years, the emotional and ‘affective’ turn in social sciences and humanities has also seen the emergence of the history of emotions as a burgeoning field of studies: how has our understanding of love, hatred, fear and many other emotions changed over time; and how have emotions influenced political events and impacted profound social and cultural changes in our society?
Oral History Victoria invites proposals for presentations that will allow us to showcase approaches to emotions in Oral History. Please send submissions to contact@oralhistoryvictoria.org.au by 11 May 2018. Be sure to include your name, organization (if applicable), contact phone number and email, plus a 100-word abstract and a one sentence bio. Please also describe the type of presentation you propose, which might be a 20 minute talk, a 5 minute ‘lightning presentation’, a workshop activity, a poster presentation or a thematic panel.
Do you have an exciting oral history project you’re working on that you’d like to share with us? We’re looking for presenters of all varieties – community and professional historians, students, academics – and at all stages of their careers. We welcome proposals for different types of presentations – see list below.
Themes explored may include:
Managing emotions in the practice and theory of Oral History
Emotional histories and histories of emotions – the role of Oral History
Issues of gender, class, race, ethnicity and disability in collecting and analyzing emotional oral histories
The importance of emotions in family and community history
Decolonising the oral history of emotions: Indigenous approaches
Submission deadline: 11 May 2018
The symposium will be held at CO.AS.IT – Museo Italiano, 199 Faraday Street, Carlton on the 29th of July 2018
