People use different forms of “repertoire” to narrate their experiences. Long Bui, who coined the term “refugee repertoire” defines it as “the aesthetics and arts produced by refugees and their children” (Bui 112). In this class, we have explored many varieties of “refugee repertoire.” Narrators have selected many different types of media or platforms to map their refugee identity and communicate their stories. These types of media or platforms are used to intervene in the cultural narratives about the refugee.
As a choral singer, when I hear “repertoire” I imagine my choir folder full of sheet music. This sheet music, before being handed out to the choir, is organized in a music room full of filing cabinets.
In this depiction, I’ve imagined the filing cabinet of “Refugee Repertoire.” In each of these files, there are multiple different forms of the overarching platform type.
Khaled Hosseini (Chauka, Please Tell Us the Time) selected documentary, using his mobile phone as a tool, and producing the film in a specific genre. Thi Bui (The Best We Could Do) worked in the repertoire of graphic memoir, using paint and pen as her tools. Each file holds countless variations and possibilities such as these examples which we have been lucky to study in this class.
