Afghanistan Women’s Stories

“A University of Texas at Arlington educator who was forced to flee Afghanistan when the Taliban regained control two years ago this month is leading an oral history project that elevates the voices of fellow Afghan women refugees. Roshan Mashal, a specialist in UTA’s Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies (GWSS) program, is co-leading The RUG Project, which recognizes the resilience of Afghan women, promotes global unity and guides efforts for social change. With support from the GWSS program, faculty members from the Department of Communication – Dustin Harp, Chyng-Yang Jang, Brian Horton and Andrew Clark – the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Mina’s List and the Afghan American Foundation, The RUG Project spotlights the stories and experiences of Afghan women refugees to guide educators, activists, policymakers and journalists working to advance women’s rights as human rights.” See full story here.

More than just a podcast

“Podcasts have soared in popularity in recent years, and now University of Texas students are getting into the act. Honors College freshmen have collaborated to create podcasts for Storytelling Across Media, a course taught by Honors College lecturer Amy Hauck.

The mission of the course is to “explore the literary legacy of storytelling as a way to actualize identity, preserve history, provide social testimony, cultivate empathy, encourage social responsibility, and generate knowledge through engaging and sharing narrative.”

The three cohorts that have taken the course have engaged in multifaceted ways to study fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and multimedia. However, the primary emphasis was given to oral history as they explored the power of narrative.” Read more here which includes a link to the resulting podcasts.