Using biographical narrative and life story methods to research women's movements: Sisterhood and after

Abstract

The use of oral history as a tool for archives, museums and libraries is well established, as is its association with feminist research methodologies and histories. Sisterhood and after is an oral history research project with an archival aim. Providing a detailed account of the oral history method undertaken, we argue that though distinct, these two remits are not incompatible. Drawing from interview examples we argue that the requirements of building an oral history archive creates a wealth of material which challenges any single narrative of feminist history and that even though the method focusses on the individual, it situates that person in a broad context and so keeps the social in view. Oral history is therefore an invaluable tool for today's researchers of today and for those building archives for tomorrow's researchers.