Emotional Labour in Oral History Research

Emotional Labour in Oral History critically appraises the many complex ways in which emotion management features in oral history research and its specific implications for the researcher.

Jennifer Harding is Professor of Media and Culture at London Metropolitan University. Her research interests include cultural theory, emotions and sexuality. She is a trustee of The Oral History Society and an editor of Oral History. She co-edited Emotions: A Cultural Studies Reader (2009). Verusca Calabria is Associate Professor of Mental Health Histories at Nottingham Trent University. Her research interests include coproduction and the social history of mental healthcare. She is a trustee of The Oral History Society. She co-authored Oral History in UK Doctoral Research (2024).

1. Introduction - what this book is about and how we came to write it 2. A turn to emotion and affect in the social sciences and humanities 3. Emotional labour and emotion work 4. Emotionality in oral history research 5. Positionality and research relations 6. Research contexts, cultures and communities 7. Precarity and hope labour in oral history research 8. Time, affect and care 9. Towards a culture of care in oral history research