Columbia Center for Oral History and the Oral History Master of Arts Present:
"Both Our Voices: A Feminist Relational Approach to Life History Narratives of Juvenile Justice Involved LGBTQ Young Adults"
WHO: Sarah Mountz recently completed her PhD in Social Welfare at the University of Washington, where her dissertation focused on the experiences of LGBTQ youth who had been incarcerated in Girls Detention Facilities in New York State. She received her MSW from Columbia University in 2003 and worked in various aspects of the child welfare system in New York City before returning to school. She is a Pride Foundation Scholar and recipient of the Marion Hathaway Doctoral Writing Award. Sarah’s work has been featured in Youth and Society and the Journal of LGBTQ Policy of the Harvard Kennedy School. She is currently lecturing in the CUNY system and using her research as an advocacy tool.
WHEN: Thursday, April 11, 2013, 6:00-8:00pm.
WHERE: 602 Northwest Corner Building, 120th Street and Broadway.
ABOUT THE WORKSHOP: Among LGBTQ youth, queer women, transgender and gender non-conforming youth have been particularly marginalized in both social science research, social service settings, and in the community, where they are uniquely vulnerable to violence and significantly more likely to become involved with law enforcement. This is particularly the case for queer young women, transgender and gender non-conforming youth of color and youth or who are low-income. This workshop explores the uniquely embodied and relational nature of storytelling and story receiving in Life History Interviews conducted with LGBTQ Young Adults (age 18-25) who have previously been incarcerated in girls detention facilities in New York State. Interviews were conducted as part of a research study grounded in the principles of Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) and facilitated by a Community Advisory Board composed of practitioners, legal advocates, researchers, activists, and young people. Narratives were interpreted using the Listening Guide, a method based upon Carol Gilligan’s early work on identity and moral development. The Listening Guide takes into consideration the multiplicity of voice when interpreting qualitative interview data, and consists of a series of sequential listenings intended to place the listener in relationship with a story and its narrator. Intimate listening revealed themes related to participants’ experiences of systemic and interpersonal violence, resilience, survival and wellness, community activism, and identity processes. A collective narrative also emerged that cast light upon the invasive, repressive, and often violent nature of girls detention facilities.
SPONSORS: This talk is part of the “Paul F. Lazarsfeld Lecture Series,” co-sponsored by the Columbia Center for Oral History (CCOH) and the Oral History Master of Arts Program (OHMA). Support for this event was generously provided by Proud Colors and the Columbia Queer Alliance. Support from the Interdisciplinary Center for Innovative Theory and Empirics (INCITE) is provided for programming that embodies late Professor Paul Lazarsfeld’s commitment to improving methodological approaches that address concerns of vital cultural and social significance.
INFORMATION: For more information, please email Terrell Frazier atterrellfrazier@columbia.edu
THIS EVENT IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
NO REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED