Stories in the Archives

by Leanne Hall

Description







This workshop shows how many amazing stories exist in Australian archives, and encourages participants to see historical documents and artefacts as inspiration for personal and creative writing.

Growing out of my time as a Creative Fellow at the State Library of Victoria, and my doctoral research into creating historical fiction about Chinese Australians, this workshop explores how to “read” archival items and how to use them to spark fiction and non-fiction writing.

We’ll look at documents created by the White Australia policy, family photos, and an online criminal justice archive, to think more about the stories that Australians collect and tell.

Topics Covered:







  • The paper of the White Australia policy
  • How to read a family photograph
  • Creating characters and voice from a digital archive
  • Exploring margins, assumptions, stereotypes and context


 

 

Details

Audience

Secondary students, General public

Duration

60 - 90 minutes

Requirements

Data projector. I will bring my presentation on USB.  I will not require video, audio or internet connection.

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