A Hunger for Memory: Oral History Recovery in Community Service-Learning

At a moment when multiculturalism is inspiring new directions for studying non-fiction, new literary genres are emerging, including the oral history narrative. This essay explores the value of the oral history narrative through its recovery in a service-learning course. Interrogating questions of genre, subjectivity, ethics, and composition, this paper affirms the place of oral history recovery in the composition classroom and proposes innovative strategies to remake a basic assignment into an interdisciplinary event.