Shared Authority/Shared Stewardship: Applying Oral History Praxis in the Archives

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Abstract

Shared authority is, by now, an accepted concept and practice in oral history research, one that not only recognizes the co-creative and dialogic nature of an interview, but also views the narrator and interviewer as sharing expertise and authority over the production of history and knowledge. Shared stewardship could be understood as a parallel practice in libraries, archives, and museums. We seek ways to share authority in the work of  preserving, curating, and disseminating records the way that oral historians might share authority in the creation of a recorded life story. This presentation offers a case study that uses a multi-pronged approach (including archival research, oral history, and archival reciprocity) to explore shared authority and shared stewardship in the grassroots memory work of the Vietnamese diaspora in the UK. Through reciprocal engagement with the largest known archives of the Vietnamese diaspora in the UK, housed at the Hackney Archives in East London, I am assisting the stewards of this collection in moving towards cataloging their materials. In order to do so with sensitivity to community needs, I use oral history interviews with Steering Panel members as a way to piece together a story of how the archives came to be where they are; understand who the key stakeholders are and who else might be included in stewardship; and consider the fraught politics of diaspora that inform memory work for Vietnamese of the postwar generation. 

Speaker bio

Thuy Vo Dang (she/her/hers) is assistant professor of information studies and Asian American studies at UCLA. She holds a Ph.D. in Ethnic Studies from the University of California, San Diego and a B.A. in English and Asian American Studies from Scripps College. Her previous role was curator for the UCI Libraries Southeast Asian Archive and research librarian for Asian American studies. With research and teaching expertise in oral history, Southeast Asian diaspora, community archives and cultural memory, Thuy brings an interdisciplinary approach to co-creating digital humanities and archival documentation projects with educators and community-based organizations. She is co-author of the books A People’s Guide to Orange County (2022) and Vietnamese in Orange County (2015). Thuy serves on the board of directors for Arts OC and the Vietnamese American Arts & Letters Association.