Stories That Need to be Told

This course explores memory, vanishing histories, and the connection between the written and the spoken story. Students will conduct oral history interviews as one means of discovering stories that need to be told. By listening to these stories, students will make important discoveries. They will discover a wealth of stories set in the wider world. They will discover that each story, especially in the retelling, makes its own set of demands. They will also discover their own important stories. There will be autobiographical writing assignments, as well as the opportunity to write fiction. The class will conduct a series of interviews at Hour Children, an organization that supports women who have recently been released from prison. Students will create a series of dramatic monologues based on these interviews. There will be an end-of-semester staged reading of the monologues by professional actors. There will also be an end-of-semester multimedia exhibit, during which students will present conference work.