So I managed to hit the curb and rip my tyre open meaning I didn’t have my car this week! I didn’t realise the bus left from directly outside my house at 7.55am and returned for 4.45pm which was a great revelation! It was also a great time to sit and read or listen to a podcast or two on route! I am particularly enjoying the TED radio hour, which is like a summary of TED talks on any given subject. I listened to one about Love quite aptly. It discussed the love between siblings being an unreadable bond but also which I found quite interesting parental love but also how your parents never see you in your ‘real life’ and like what you do as your job etc.
I listened to one about listening “The Act of Listening ! There was some really interesting ideas around recording interviews, one of the talks by Dave Isay discussed ‘Ghetto Life 101’ where two children in the 1990s were given tape recorders to record their everyday lives. He also talked about ‘Story Corps’ where booths were set up to record peoples conversations with each other. I love the idea of all these oral histories being collected and it made me value the interviews I’ve collected as these are stories that might have disappeared with the people and the generations. It has made me realise that actually my PhD does contribute to new knowledge in this way as preserving past relationships.
I also listened to a radio 4 ‘Four Thought’ podcast entitled ‘other people’s stories’. Anna Derrig was discussing different issues around telling other peoples stories, from ethical issues and also people who are featured by association. Also about how even if you have ethical consent, you need to maybe show that person ‘how’ you have translated or told their story as it might not be what they expected!
I enjoyed my bus journey, but also found that I can listen to podcasts in my car (hurrah)….Going on the bus means you get really cold feet!!!!!!
A Matter of Artefact 