Talk that Talk: Storytelling and Analysis Rooted in African American Oral Tradition

Abstract

Stories are the foundation of qualitative research. However, the development of qualitative methods rooted in oral traditions remains largely unexplored by researchers. The contextual and historical influences on storytelling and storytaking are critical features of the African American oral tradition that are often ignored or minimized in qualitative research. Despite the complex and often contentious history of African Americans, their oral traditions have not been explored to reveal the depth of their lived experiences and the way those experiences inform their health concerns. The purpose of this article is twofold. First, dialogues about storytelling and storytaking are revisited and critiqued. Second, a comprehensive analytic process for gathering and interpreting stories rooted in African American oral tradition is outlined.

Accustomed to enduring: Experiences of African-American women seeking care for cardiac symptoms

“…[30][31][32] Historically, African Americans have used storytelling to convey cultural values and traditions. 33 Many rituals, values, and guiding principles of African-American culture are sustained primarily through story telling. 34,35 The purpose of this phenomenologic study was to gather and analyze African-American women's' stories of cardiac symptoms and care seeking to better understand the phenomenon of care-seeking delay.…”

“A Breast Ain't Nothing but a Sandwich”: Narratives of Ella, an African American Social Worker Breast Cancer Survivor

“…Study participants also related to the stories because they were about other African American females dealing with breast health. Banks-Wallace (2002) ascertained the importance of using African American oral traditions when developing qualitative research. Stories are used to make sense of human behavior, and within an African American cultural context, traditional values, historical settings, language, and style are embedded within these stories.…”

Healthy Choices through Family History: A Community Approach to Family History Awareness

“…However, health and illness experiences are conveyed through narratives, and FHH is largely transmitted through verbal (face to face and telephone) communications. Storytelling has been documented as a successful method of health education and promotion [31,32,33,34,35]. This project capitalized on informal oral history interviews within families to help consumers recognize familial risk in the form of shared diseases and lifestyles.…”