Abstract:
This dissertation uses oral history methodology and grounded theory methods to analyze and examine the stories of Black women and girls from the historic Black town of Hobson City, Alabama with the purpose of recovering and (re)inscribing some of the history of the town. The research questions that guided my research are 1) What are the unique lived experiences in the stories of Black women and girls in Hobson City, Alabama? 2) What are the current and historical narratives of Hobson City, Alabama and how can these oral histories disrupt or complement those narratives? And 3) What are the current tensions (either real or perceived) between Hobson City, Alabama and the surrounding mainstream communities? This dissertation includes four chapters. The first chapter is the literature review that examines scholarship that is most relevant to my research. This chapter is an intersection of oral history methodology and community history as well as a space for research that focuses on community history of a historic black town told from the perspectives of black women and girls. Chapter two explains oral history as a methodology along with grounded theory methods used to analyze the data. Chapter three includes an analysis of the interviews from the women and girls and triangulated with data that emerged with outside sources. Finally, the researcher presents findings and conclusion in chapter four.
