About the Project
MigrantStories is an ongoing digital humanities project that is dedicated to sharing the history of migration through the voices of migrants themselves. The local and global media too often characterize the plight of migrants and refugees through one of two tropes, as helpless victim or as a destabilizing danger. The media often speaks about migrants and refugees rather than with them. MigrantStories is dedicated to amplifying the voices of migrants and allowing them to narrate their own experiences. This is not only about equitable inclusion; focusing on these voices offers a wider array of evidence to challenge and nuance current dominant public perceptions of migrants and refugees.
MigrantStories is currently focused on conducting oral history interviews within Pittsburgh’s Somali-Bantu community. In the spring of 2019, students of Allegheny College’s 20 th century Migration and Refugees (HIST 358) conducted five oral history interviews within the Somali-Bantu community. This project is ongoing.
