Folklore Dissertations and Theses
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Browsing Folklore Dissertations and Theses by Author "Carpenter, Inta"
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Item Stories about Stories: Life Story Collecting as Commemoration and Social Activism([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2010-06-01) Akerbergs, Ilze; McDowell, John; Carpenter, IntaThe oral life-story is a flexible genre that allows one to connect the private with the public world. It is a window that allows the world to catch a glimpse of the personal experiences and values of the ordinary person. The representations of self and the past that are embodied in life-stories can be used as tools by researchers and activists for larger agendas that create meanings in culture and society. This dissertation deals with two different ways life-story collecting has served two different objectives. Mara in Latvia has created a "master story" that fills and commemorates the "silenced gaps" in Latvian history left by its fifty years under Soviet rule; Karen in Brazil has created a "master story" that works for social change and embraces the diversity of Brazil and the world. Through analysis of Mara's and Karen's own life-stories and the products they have produced, this study examines the "master story" each has created from the many life-stories told to them, against the cultural and political backdrop of Latvia and Brazil.