Oral interviewing can be a satisfying experience for both those interviewed and those doing the interviewing. In practice, however, these often merge because oral history is. A grounded theory approach is an open approach to data analysis where codes are generated directly out of the data. Oral history involves interviewing a person or group to get an inside perspective into what it was like to live in a particular time or is like to live as the member of a particular group within a society. Conducting an oral history offers students an opportunity to reach out to the older generations in their own families and communities, in order to learn more about the past.
Is the achievement of oral history the supplanting of other historigraphic traditions. An introduction for students university of north carolina press, 1979. Judging the study and its success is related to joining the. The eminent contributors discuss the history and methodologies of a field that once was the domain of history scholars who were responding to trends within the academy, but which has increasingly become democratized and widely used outside the realm of historical research. Often, they are taken by family members, historians, archivists, or others who interview older people in an attempt to document events and lives that might otherwise be forgotten.
We received a grant from jjd to start the pilot project, preserving community, teaching high school students oral history. The eminent contributors discuss the history and methodologies of a field that once was the domain of history scholars who were responding to trends within the academy, but which has increasingly become democratized and widely used outside the realm of. This article also considers approaches to memory and remembering, which can enhance oral historians understanding. A systematic method of data analysis for oral history research, based on. By interviewing people who have memories of the past or who retain recollections given to them by members of older generations we have a potentially very productive way of discovering and preserving the history of parish congregations and communities. Brian calliou is a member of the sucker creek first nation in north central alberta, canada, and works in leadership and management for canadas indigenous aboriginal population. Former fbi negotiator chris voss at the australia real estate conference duration. The reuse of archived oral history interviews presents an additional. Oral history helps the people in the streets also contribute to historiography of a country.
A practical guide to oral history southern oral history program. Topics in oral history collected essays on a broad range of topics. Oral history bibliography procedures and methodology basic. Limit your own remarks to some small talk to make the narrator. Historydriven topics are highly congruent with oral history. What is the difference between oral history and traditional. Use of the oral history interview to assess communication and. Oral history can give a voice to individuals and groups who are sometimes marginalized in conventional histories the working classes, women and ethnic minorities, for instance. Oral histories are accounts given by a person of events earlier in their life. Oral history is the systematic collection of living peoples testimony about their own experiences.
Designing an oral history project phmc oral history. The term encompasses a wide range of practices that are loosely connected by a common methodology. Division jjd to teach oral history to teens who are considered at risk. The literature about memory ranges across several academic disciplines and is daunting in size and scope.
Oral history guidelines texas historical commission. Russell, director santa barbara, california 931069010 805 8938215 oral history methodology, the art of interviewing oral history is as old as antiquity. Harder oral history is a method of gathering and preserving historical information through recorded interviews of people about past events and ways of life oral history association. Eyewitnesses, or at least contemporaries to an event or period of time, can provide historians with important primary source materials, often from several points of view. Other helpful resources include the minnesota historical societys oral history project guidelines and interview tips. An historiographic essay focuses on the interpretations of the historians rather than on the story of the past itself. Oral history, as a clear and transparent tool, needs to be applied with guidelines for qualitative researchers re garding data analysis limitations from oral evidence and facetoface contact. In addition to the workshops that we offer to community groups, we are happy to provide this manual as a resource and guide to oral history interviewing. It begins with an audio or video recording of a first person account made by an interviewer with an interviewee also referred to as narrator, both of whom have the conscious intention of creating a. An oral history interview should focus on personal memories and not on hearsay or folk tradition. Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. Written by linda shopes, this guide presents an overview of oral history and ways historians use it, tips on questions to ask when reading or listening to oral history interviews, a sample.
Oral history is one of the oldest, best known, and most often used methods in qualitative research. Oral history is a field of study concerned with obtaining, interpreting, and preserving historical information from verbal accounts. Oral historys distinctive features are its interdisciplinary roots in sociology and history, and its valuing of orality. Perhaps the most important difference between oral history and traditional history is the personal nature of the former.
Memory is not a passive depository of facts, but an active process of creation of meanings. You are there to record someone elses experiences, not to talk about yourself. History driven topics are highly congruent with oral history. Apr 28, 2014 historical research, as a research methodology, is supported by oral history research method, which is a valuable tool for researchers in the nursing field. Like any other social or historical phenomenon, oral history is a product of shifting paradigms and unbending structures as well as individual initiative and opportunism. Human development and family studies marriage and family therapy. Utilizing oral history as a research method can help to build a foundation of. Foleys text is a very thorough, detailed survey of oralformulaic theory from its beginnings to his current time the late 1980s.
Oral history is a field of study and a method of gathering, preserving and interpreting the voices and memories of people, communities, and participants in past events. Our theory is that oral history can be used to preserve communities and. This manual includes tips on designing an oral history project. If you do, what churches have you attended and why. The term encompasses a wide range of practices that are loosely connected by a. Oral annualconference2015 history oralhistoriesof science.
One of the best reflections on personalized scholarship can be found in stacey zembrzycki, sharing authority with baba, journal of canadian studies 43, 1 hiver 2009. Although some community histories tend to be uncritical towards their subjects, this. Introduction timescapes methods guides series guide no. Grounded theory approaches are useful for building theory out of your data. Oral history, as a clear and transparent tool, needs to be applied with guidelines for qualitative researchers regarding data analysis limitations from oral evidence and facetoface contact. Does thompson feel that oral history has a counterhegemonic purpose. Oral history typically involves interviews with individuals who either tell their life stories or focus on a certain aspect of their history.
Information gathered from oral history interviews can fill in the gaps between written documents and bring past events to life in a vivid and memorable fashion. During the passage of time, a lack of an objective method to assist the analysis of the data obtained through oral evidence interviews limits the researchers efforts. A brief background of key concepts in this paper will be provided, followed by a discussion of the relevance of oral history as a research method in south african church history. Making sense of oral history offers a place for students and teachers to begin working with oral history as historical evidence. Interviewing a group of people can create a picture of that experience, and a large project of this kind such as uncs southern oral. Oral history association principles and best practices. It follows the cantrell family and covers among others. An oral history bibliography the southern oral history program may 2011 theory and method charlton, thomas l. Jan 01, 1988 foleys text is a very thorough, detailed survey of oral formulaic theory from its beginnings to his current time the late 1980s. Gathered here are parts i and ii of the handbook of oral history, which set the benchmark for knowledge of the field. Oral history is a field of study and a method of gathering and preserving the voices and memories of people. Oral history is so flexible that people of all ages can adapt the techniques of asking and listening to create and learn about history and historical narratives. This paper focuses on the relevance of using oral history as a research method in south african church history.
For example, if you are interested in studying a historical event or a historical time period and how a certain population experienced that event or lived in that period, oral history may be the best method. Botting 2000 used oral history as a way to understand the experiences. Memory and remembering in oral history oxford handbooks. Oral history is both the oldest type of historical inquiry, predating the written word, and one of the most modern, initiated with tape recorders in the 1940s and now using 21st. Our theory is that oral history can be used to preserve communities and reconnect people with their heritage. Approaches to designing an oral history project may vary, including the small case study thomson, 1994. Introduction memory is still recognized as the raw material of. Oral historians attempt to verify their findings, analyze them, and place them in an accurate historical context. It can provide new information, alternative explanations and different insights which are potentially of enormous value. About oral history oral history research and resources. Historical research, as a research methodology, is supported by oral history research method, which is a valuable tool for researchers in the nursing field. Oral history is not folklore, gossip, hearsay, or rumor.
The whole point of the interview is to make sure the narrator tells his or her own story. These interviews are conducted with people who participated in or observed past events and whose memories and perceptions of these are to be. Use of the oral history interview to assess communication. Oral history office attachment iii oral history interview tips 1. These interviews are conducted with people who participated in or observed past events and whose memories and perceptions of these are to be preserved as an aural record. Oral history interviewing oral history interviews can bring history to life. Who is the oldest person you can remember in your family from when you were a child. Oral annualconference2015 history society kate fisher director of the centre of medical history. This article focuses on the importance of memory and remembering in oral history. The oral history association maintains a statement of best practices addressing both the ethical principles and the practical steps involved in all three phases of a welldesigned oral history project. Generally, oral history researchers in the social sciences and humanities apply a grounded theory approach, or some version of it, to their data analysis. Oral history, on the other hand, involves eyewitness accounts and reminiscences about events and experiences which occurred during the lifetime of the person being interviewed.
Introduction to qualitative research softwares laszlo csirmaz week 3 25 january politics of oral history. That is, the crux of this article is to highlight the relevance of oral history as a research methodology in church history. Further information about oral history methodology can be found on the following web sites. Oral history takes place in western virginia and spans nearly one hundred years. Use of the oral history interview to assess communication and marital satisfaction in laterlife couples by daniel james harkness a dissertation submitted to the graduate faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of doctor of philosophy major. Oral history research and resources this guide provides resources on doing oral history research, locating oral histories in the ucsc library and other libraries and institutions on the central coast of california and beyond, and oral history as a field. Oral history is the best method to use, however, to.
Herodotus, if you recall, set down many of his stories from accounts he heard an his travels. Family history questions do you remember hearing your grandparents describe their lives. White, miescher, and cohen have recently observed that no. Nov 24, 2016 in contrast, community oral history, the dominant form of popular oral history practice over the last 3040 years, has tended to look for and locate significance outside the elite sections of society typical of more conventional oral history thomson 2008. At the roundabout, take the second exit onto the a30.
These characteristics permeate the four forms which abrams 2010 argues oral history takes. According to the national oral history association oha, oral history refers both to a method of recording and preserving oral testimony and to the product of that process. Its primary mission is to explore the nature and significance of oral history and advance understanding of the field among scholars, educators, practitioners, and the general public. Developing an oral history project requires considerable planning and resources, everything from defining the nature and scope of the project to selecting appropriate recording technology, from identifying both interviewers and interviewees to deciding whether or not to transcribe interviews and determining how to process them. More traditional historical research methods courthouse records. Oral history typically involves interviews with individuals who either tell their life stories or. Oral history as a source and a method has been central to the development of african history.
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