Abstract: In remembering and speaking, narrators reassess, relive, and sometimes pains-takingly reconstruct life experiences. What can be asked? The empathetic listener assesses the goals of the interview, the potential contribution the interview can make to social and cultural history, the emotional state of the narrator, the interactions between narrator and any other people present, what participants hope for in the narration, the political risks that may result when information is revealed, and whatever other concerns are salient in that context. The listener is keenly sensitive to the nonverbal communication from her narrator—gestures, voice intonation, pauses—in an effort to respect her narrator's emotional boundaries. Together narrator and listener negotiate what the narrator must tell, wants to tell, tries to shape into a coherent narrative, and cannot bear to tell.KeywordsOvarian CancerLife StoryOral HistoryPolitical RiskPantheon BookThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
Publication Year: 2013
Publication Date: 2013-01-01
Language: en
Type: book-chapter
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 5
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