Oral History (An Interdisciplinary Methodology) (original) (raw)

The International Oral History Association and the new tendencies in the field of oral history

2007

The creatiou of lhe IORA This text has a dual purpose: to pay tribute to Alexander von Plato and to contribute to expanding knowledge about the history of lhe intemational oral history movemen!. We propose to follow the institutionalization process of oral history, which was fully consolidated in 1996 with the creation of the International Oral History Association (IORA). The basic idea is to analyze lhe impact of lhe new organization on the growth and diversif i cation Df this research field and to feflect ou and assess its role. We start from the principIe lhat IOHA has not only been a means of renovating and stimulating oral history but also a charmel for the emergence of new challenges and paths to be followed. Alexander von Plato contributed significantly to the creation and consolidation of the Intemational Oral History Organization, not only through the contribution of works lhat deepened the methodological debate in lhe area but also through the insti tulional support he provided and which guaranteed the survival of IOHA in its early stages. In 1996 lhe IX Intemational Oral History Conference took place in Gothenburg, Sweden, indicating new trends and new political articulations llllder way. The in creasing number af participants and the strong presence of Latin Americans, espe cially Brazilians, pushed for a larger participation in the new organization that was to be created. The Golhenburg meeting 1 accepted 164 papers, 2 22 of which were from Brazilians, 20 were British and 15 Finnish.

Oral History and Oral Communication in Today’s Culture

International Journal of Information and Education Technology, 2012

The aim of this paper is to present how Oral Communication is an integral part of creating Oral History. The conveyance and the presence of Oral History cannot exist without the "ingredients" of communication. The paper presents how both the transmitter and the receiver have responsibilities without which a communication cannot be successful. In order to succeed this, these responsibilities need to be known and paid attention to.

Oral Tradition: A Veritable Tool in Historical Reconstruction

Scholarly Journals International, 2020

Oral tradition is one of the sources for historical craft, but one whose use has not easily been received with general acceptance, and has rather been subject of much controversy. Oral tradition as a source of historical reconstruction relates to the derivation of facts and figures in historical reconstruction through narratives. Oral sources generally transmit information about the distant past from one person to another in oral forms and are indispensable in societies where writing as a form of communication is recent. It is against this backdrop that the paper examines the use of oral tradition as veritable tools for historical reconstruction, by identifying the different forms oral tradition exist with their merits and pitfalls. This will help to reduce the reservations researchers may have over the use of oral traditions in Historiography. The paper establishes that oral tradition is of tremendous help to researchers of both old literate and recent literate societies. The paper drew resource mainly from secondary sources for the research.

Investigating Oral History

Acta Ethnographica Hungarica, 2016

This interview with Professor Jan Vansina, conducted in the mid-1980s by Szilárd Biernaczky, is the result of extensive correspondence between the two. After a brief introduction to the achievements of the distinguished and pioneering scholar of African history, the interview addresses the following issues: 1. the current status of oral history research; 2. new theories in the field of oral history research; 3. ethnohistory versus oral history; 4. ethnography, ethnology, European peasantry, and oral history; 5. the mythical dimension of the “beginning” and its inherent historical models (“outbound” segments, migration, new conquest, first ancestors, etc.); 6. oral history as a source of nationalist movements in Africa; 7. the appreciation of oral history (and its research) and African cultural movements.