Irish Studies Seminar Series: “Granny’s Things”: Personal Objects as Gateways into a Life Story

Irish Studies Seminar Series

Centre for Irish Studies, School of Geography, Archaeology and Irish Studies

University of Galway

“Granny’s Things”: Personal Objects as Gateways into a Life Story,

Kelly Norah Drukker

(Michael Smith Visiting Scholar, Concordia University, Montreal)

Ms Kelly Norah Drukker, PhD Humanities Program – Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Society and Culture, Concordia University, Montreal

Seminar Title: “Granny’s Things”: Personal Objects as Gateways into a Life Story

Guest Respondent: Professor Anne Byrne, School of Political Science and Sociology, University of Galway.

Seminar Abstract:  “Granny’s Things”: Personal Objects as Gateways into a Life Story

A rosary, a cashier’s pin, a Hudson’s seal fur coat. These are objects that have constellated around the life of my late grandmother, Rose, from childhood until her later years.

Drawing from the fields of oral history, memory studies, and creative nonfiction, my research-creation project-in-progress asks, how can personal objects help us access a life story after a loved one is no longer here to tell it? How, through placing personal objects at the centre of family oral history interviews, might we gain deeper insight into the circumstances of a family member’s life, and decode meanings otherwise overlooked? When narrating the more difficult aspects of a family member’s story, can using objects as an entry point help with some of the ethical issues surrounding representation of someone who can no longer speak for themselves? For creative writers, how can personal objects influence the telling, and resist definitions pinned down by words?

Through family oral history interviews, nonfiction writing, and by drawing upon the work of artists and theorists who focus on objects of memory, my project investigates the potential personal objects have to lend insight into a loved one’s life story, and charts their evolving meaning, over time.