Why retell a story that is already in the confines of a fading memory?
The reasoning behind the retelling of young Americans gaining the right to vote was discussed in our most recent seminar delivered by Jenifer Frost. Jenifer’s current work on her book, ‘Let us vote’ traces the history and movement of a call for young voting rights in the United States; from the early 1940s until the signing of the 26th amendment in 1971, and on into the future.
In her book and the seminar, Jenifer argued that the movement had previously been misinterpreted as a solely top-down change that occurred rapidly. Instead, Jenifer posed an alternative; that the movement had occurred over three decades and been an amalgamation of many grass-roots movements, meeting established political power to gain the vote.
This research clearly sits within our course as a final example of the themes of thoughtful questioning and exploration of ideas through storytelling.
At its heart, the research is about storytelling; giving voice to ‘characters’ who populate our imaginations of the past.
An inspiring aspect of the research was how Jenifer recounted history through the use of an unconventional, creative lens, song lyrics.
Having been a student of Jennifer, I have come across the idea of creative storytelling when communicating historical events and drawing on alternative sources instead of dry faceless written records. In so doing, making people come alive through narrative, thus allowing us to connect with the past.
In understanding this period of change, we can gain meaningful insight into the past and hopefully be inspired, as youths to engage politically in the contemporary. Thus, the reason to refresh our faded memory of L.U.V.
