Storying Reality: Preserving Counterstories Through Oral Histories of Latinx Graduate Students

“Storying Reality” aims to preserve counterstories told by Latinx graduate students in Florida International University’s English graduate program through the recordings of oral history interviews which have been compiled into a podcast of the same name. This thesis emphasizes enacting the methodology of counterstory through the method of oral history as a way to fill the gap in FIU’s archive regarding Latinx graduate students’ experiences. This thesis also serves as a way of engaging with counterstory through the underutilized modality of sound. The podcast features a close-reading of Gloria Anzaldúa’s use of counterstory in Borderlands, five oral history interviews, and a reflection on the interview process. The written portion of this thesis explains the theoretical frameworks utilized, the methods for creating the podcast, and transcripts of the interviews.