Oral history bibliography 2011 southern oral history program. So, while oral history focuses on the individual and her narrative, it can be used to link micro and macrophenomena and personal life experiences to broader historical circumstances. Pdf this article examines the function of documents as a data. Memory is not a passive depository of facts, but an active process of creation of meanings. Life histories family histories oral testimonies structured, semistructured, unstructured. Identify your narratorwho can tell interesting stories, who has lived through a unique time period, who can document an era for which little other information exists. Oral history association principles and best practices. This article also considers approaches to memory and remembering, which can enhance oral historians understanding. Both parties should agree to the approximate length of the interview in advance.
Memory and remembering in oral history oxford handbooks. Pdf on sep 1, 2015, fritz sager and others published historical methods. Oral history is a method of conducting historical research through recorded interviews between a narrator with personal experience of historically significant events and a wellinformed interviewer, with the goal of adding to the historical record. Historiography historiography methodology of historiography. I found the oral history project stimulating and rewarding. Research models and methodologies faculty of business. About oral history oral history research and resources.
Historical method historical method comprises the techniques and guidelines by which historians use primary sources and other evidence to research and then to write histories in the form of accounts of the past. Oral historians recommend saving the files in at least four separate places. My mum was rather surprised at how involved i got doing my project. For example, if the evidence is to be used in court, a more strict method of data gathering and storage may be required. Unless part of the oral history process includes gathering soundscapes. Oral history and qualitative research joanna bornat introduction oral history, with its combination of methods drawn from history and sociology, places emphasis on the significance of temporal context and memory by interviewing people about their past experience.
The very being and legal existence of the woman is suspended during the. Historiography methodology of historiography britannica. Select interviewees who will be able and willing to provide information you need. Primary sources and other evidence including those from archaeology are used in the philosophy of history, the question of the nature, and the possibility, of a sound historical method is raised within the subfield of epistemology. This article focuses on the importance of memory and remembering in oral history. Classes of research methodologies that have emerged as a. Recognizing that clear and concise guide can be useful to all practitioners of oral history, the oral history association has since 1968 published a series of statements aimed at outlining a set of principles and obligations for all those who use this methodology. In the oral history project, the interview has become an innovative methodology since oral history became very. How have canadian historians reacted to oral historical methodology. Pdf the module presents a holistic view of the various tools and techniques employed by researchers for the collection of data. An introduction for students university of north carolina press, 1979.
Several of these already exist drawing on experience of oral history work and research in. Oral history bibliography procedures and methodology basic. It explains how to set up an oral history project, how to conduct interviews and what legal concerns to. After all, it has been only twelve years since va day was declared in the continental united states, and barely a decade since the last major world power celebrated its deliverance on victory in china day. Life histories are generated from qualitative research, interviewing individuals. The question of the nature, and even the possibility, of a sound historical method is raised in the philosophy of history as a. Historical method is the collection of techniques and guidelines that historians use to research and write histories of the past. Oral history is the method of recording, preserving and. Several of these already exist drawing on experience of oral history work and research in different national and cultural settings lummis, 1987. Oral history has also the class character and ideological commitment. Oral history is a field of study and a method of gathering and preserving the voices and memories of people. The case study starts with a historical outline of the advent of oral history research in western society, its strengths and its weaknesses, before it moves to a practical exploration of oral history methodology.
Oral history and readers theater project sometimes great projects are unplanned. The oral history centre, striving to become a national leader and global innovator in developing excellence in oral history, publishes the oral history forum dhistoire orale, as of 2006 the online publication of the canadian oral history association, which is also based at the university of winnipeg. From fact finding to history shaping nicholas mariner oral history can be seen as the earliest form of historical inquiry. Because it is a primary source, an oral history is not intended to present a final, verified, or. The original intent was to develop a dozen questions that could be answered in less than twenty minutes. Make sure this person is in reasonable health for their age, with a good memory and has. For historical and crosscultural research, relying on prior studies may be. However, as a specific endeavor of the recognized historical profession, oral history finds its place in a more recent approach to historical methodology, specifically the new. As the previous section has demonstrated, there are many branches of history today, each with different kinds of evidence, particular canons of interpretation, and distinctive conventions of writing. Used to its full potential, done carefully and conscientiously, oral history methods let us collect unique information that can be of great value to researchers now and in the future. Prepare an historical file containing materials from sources relating to the life experiences of the subjects, and time period to be covered in the interviews. Oral history in its various guises is central methodology in the historians toolkit, and a good way to approach the study of the past. Russell, director santa barbara, california 931069010 805 8938215 oral history methodology, the art of interviewing oral history is as old as antiquity. Mycloud balboa island museum oral history project with alice dear who served as the organizations archivist.
However practitioners across a range of academic disciplines have also developed the. Social scientific approaches usually perceive the historical method only as. For historical reasons, we refer to these documents as the ccitt standard. Introduction timescapes methods guides series guide no. It begins with an audio or video recording of a first person account made by an. The principles and best practices for oral history update and replace the oral history evaluation guidelines adopted in 1989, revised in 2000. North american oral history association, as quoted by thomson, 1998, p. Oral history as an innovative language teaching technique. Of course, historians cannot bracket out their own moral or intellectual.
Our theory is that oral history can be used to preserve communities and reconnect people with their heritage. Accordingly, oral history is a critical method for understanding life experiences in a more holistic way as compared with other methods of interview. I have found that using oral history methods can a restore human traits to. Oral history is one of the oldest, best known, and most often used methods in qualitative research.
Read and download pdf ebook hard times an oral history of the great depression studs terkel at online ebook library. Oral history guidelines undergraduates faculty of history. Feminist methodology seeks to assess knowledgegenerating strategies in terms of. It is important to determine at the outset how oral history evidence will be used because different purposes require different interviewing procedures and storage methods. Narrative is an interpretive approach in the social sciences involving storytelling methodology.
Oral history is a method of gathering, preserving and interpreting historical information through recorded interviews with people, communities and participants in past events and ways of life. A brief history of womens rights in the united states 1700s. Oral historians ask people to talk about their overall life experiences or to discuss specific experiences and events in a narrative form, recording this. This enables the file to be searched in the same fashion as a normal pdf. Oral history approval and participant consent forms word. Reflections on using life history approaches kate bird overseas development institute k. When a key volunteer for the friends of georgetown history fogh oral history project was unable to conduct interviews that had been identified as part of the deliverables of a department of neighborhoods small and. Those interviewed do not have to be famous or of historical importance. Oral history was established in 1948 as a modern technique for historical documentation when columbia university historian allan nevins began recording the memoirs of persons significant in american life. Herodotus, if you recall, set down many of his stories from accounts he heard an his travels. An oral history bibliography the southern oral history program may 2011 theory and method charlton, thomas l.
Approach video oral history armed with information to help you create the. This methodology ensures that the history of the nation is kept alive in every form. Grounded theory approaches are useful for building theory out of your data. The figure whom avishai margalit influentially labels the moral witness has become a central touchstone of. Generally, oral history researchers in the social sciences and humanities apply a grounded theory approach, or some version of it, to their data analysis. Copy files to cds and dvds save data to cloud service. In the course of his research, he has worked in over 20 archives, including the regional oral history office roho of the bancroft library at the university of california, berkeley, where he was an academic specialist. Social work practitioner ruth martin observes after using oral history in her work in the field. American colonial law held that by marriage, the husband and wife are one person in the law.
Whilst the historical widespread adoption of tiff will ensure the availability of. The aim is to introduce readers to the life history method, as well as similar and interrelated approaches, and to identify strategies and tools that are. The literature about memory ranges across several academic disciplines and is daunting in size and scope. Principles and best practices oral history association. These readings prepared students for the class discussion we had on thursday april 22. The research methodology adopted for writing scientific history like, internal criticism, external criticism, elimination of value of judgment and generalization, can be adopted in oral history.
Oral history refers both to a method of recording and preserving oral testimony and to the product of that process. Since the 1970s oral history in britain has grown from being a method in folklore studies to become a key component in community histories. Get hard times an oral history of the great depression studs terkel pdf file. Some critics will, no doubt, take issue with the concept of a personal history book so soon after the end of worldwide hostilities. In the uk, oral history as a practice has developed. This concluding section surveys contemporary historical practice and theory. Is the achievement of oral history the supplanting of other historigraphic traditions. Done carelessly, without proper preparation and processing, it can result. The memories are captured and preserved for future generation. Given that oral history is a technique and a way of constructing histories the course tries to offer an overview of different ways of how to construct the information and how to analyze it in a wider methodological context. Mrc compression method for color, then the pdf file can be significantly smaller. Chapter 2 holocaust historiography and cultural history.
1306 646 1329 358 381 1388 1495 612 474 98 1081 764 256 874 822 337 426 1518 808 660 1518 977 259 805 774 1061 674 711 879 214 1479 603 1383 1476 121 245 283