Most of the life histories on this site come from college students. To really understand what it means to use the media as a citizen at the beginning of the new century, scholars need to hear from other people. Younger and older. People with jobs or unemployed, with or without families. Gay, straight, of every size, shape, and color. Please share your stories! Here's how you can write your own life history, give permission to post it on this site, send it in, and get FEEDBACK.

Italian version

Step-by-step Instructions for Contributing

If you enjoyed reading other life histories on this Web site, perhaps you began to recall experiences of your own that you would like to share. You can have your stories published on the site by taking the following FIVE steps.

1. Complete the Consent Form
Before you begin work, please take a few moments to open the Consent Form , read the information about the Life History & Media Project, and answer the questions there. You have several important choices to make about your participation, and you also have the opportunity to ask any questions you may have.

2. Follow the Instructions
You’ll receive a notice that your consent form has been processed. Once you consent to participate, open the Instructions for writing a life history and begin work. If you have any questions, feel free to send an e-mail to the Project Director.

3. Send your Life History
You have two options for sending in your life history essay. You can paste it into the Web Submission Form. This works best in most cases, but if you prefer to send it directly to the Project Director , you can paste it into the body of an e-mail message. Your e-mail address then becomes part of your submission record.

4. Complete the Release Form
Once you have submitted your life history, please open the Release Form , read about your options, and make any selections you would like regarding your copyright and literary rights. This step is required if you want to have your life history published on the Web site or placed in an archive. You also get to decide whether you would like to receive comments or responses from readers of your essay.

5. Fill in the Questionnaire
Once you have submitted your release form, you will automatically receive a Questionnaire , which gives the researchers some information about your background. Completing the form is optional, and you are not required to respond to any question that you would prefer not answering.

That's it! Your life history can be posted on this site within a few weeks of your submitting it. Thanks for your participation! Please send any questions or comments to the Project Director