This article identifies the salient characteristics of collective memory work and collective biography research. Methodological dilemmas that can arise in the course of the research are identified and an argument is made in favor of imagination and creativity as essential elements of any effective response. Particular reference is made to a collective biography project completed by the author where she (re)presented the collective texts in the form of poetry.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Crawford, J., Kippax, S., Onyx, J., Gault, U.,& Benton, P. (1992). Emotion and gender: Constructing meaning from memory. London: Sage.
2.
Davies, B. (1992). Women’s subjectivity and feminist stories. In C. Ellis & M. Flaherty (Eds.), Research on subjectivity: Windows on lived experience (pp. 55-76). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
3.
Davies, B. (1994). Poststructuralist theory and classroom practice. Geelong, Victoria, Australia: Deakin University.
4.
Davies, B. (2000). (In)scribing body/landscape relations. Walnut Creek, CA: Alta Mira.
5.
Davies, B., Dormer, S., Gannon, S., Laws, C., Lenz Taguchi, H., McCann, H.,& Rocco, S. (2001). Becoming schoolgirls: The ambivalent process of subjectification. Gender and Education, 13 (2), 167-182.
6.
Davies, B., Dormer, S., Honan, E., McAllister, N., O’Reilly, R., Rocco, S., & Walker, A. (1997). Ruptures in the skin of silence: A collective biography. Hecate—A Women’s Studies Interdisciplinary Journal, 23 (1), 62-79.
7.
Farrar, P. (2000). Relinquishment and abjection: Asemanalysis of the meaning of losing a baby to adoption. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia.
8.
Friend, L. A., & Thompson, S. M. (2000). Using memory-work to give feminist voice to marketing research. In M. Catterall, P. Maclaran, & L. Stevens (Eds.), Marketing and feminism: Current issues and research (pp. 94-111). London: Routledge.
9.
Gannon, S. (1999). Writing as a woman: Autobiographical/collective and transgressive texts of the self. Unpublished master’s thesis, James Cook University, Australia.
10.
Haug, F., et al. (1987). Female sexualization: Acollective work of memory (E. Carter, Trans.). London, Verso.
11.
Ingleton, C. (1994). The use of memory-work to explore the role of emotions in learning. Research and Development in Higher Education, 16, 265-271.
12.
Johnston, B. (1995). Mathematics: An abstracted discourse. In P. Rogers, & G. Kaiser (Eds.), Equity in mathematics education: Influences of feminism and culture (pp. 226-234). London: Falmer.
13.
Kamler, B. (1995). Is personal writing empowering? Developing critical writing practices in Adult education. Open Letter, 6 (1), 5-16.
14.
Kamler, B. (1996). From autobiography to collective biography: Stories of aging and loss. Women and Language, 19 (1), 21-26.
15.
Koutroulis, G. (1996). Memory-work: Process, practice and pitfalls. In D. Colquhoun,& A. Kellehear (Eds.), Health research in practice: Volume 2 (pp. 95-113). London: Chapman and Hall.
16.
McCormack, C. (1998). Memories bridge the gap between theory and practice in women’s leisure. Annals of Leisure Research, 1, 7-49.
17.
Renew, S. (1994). Acting like a girl: Let me count the ways. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of New England, Australia.
18.
Richardson, L. (1997). Fields of play: Constructing an academic life. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.
19.
Small, J. (1999). Memory-work: Amethod for researching women’s tourist experiences. Tourism Management, 20 (1), 25-35.
20.
Stephenson, N., Kippax, S., & Crawford, J. (1996). You and I and she: Memory-work, moral conflict and the construction of self. In S. Wilkinson (Ed.), Feminist social psychologies: International perspectives (pp. 182-200). Buckingham, UK: Open University Press.
