Oral history enables people to share their stories in their own words , with their own voices, through their own understanding of what hap- pened and why. With careful attention to preserving our sound recordings, the voices of our narrators will endure to speak for them when they are gone.
What is the most important element of oral history?
Four key elements of oral history work are preparation, interviewing, preservation, and access . Oral historians should give careful consideration to each at the start of any oral history project, regardless of whether it is comprised of one or many interviews.
What is oral history?
What is Oral History? Oral history is a method of conducting historical research through recorded interviews between a narrator with personal experience of historically significant events and a well-informed interviewer, with the goal of adding to the historical record.
What was the purpose of this oral history?
The purpose of oral history is to record the subject’s relationship to history . The purpose of oral history is to record the subject’s relationship to history. As we know the testimony of participants in a historical event is not history.
What is oral history in simple words?
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. The Oral History Association offers several resources for you to learn about all facets of oral history. ...
What are examples of oral history?
- After the Day of Infamy: “Man-on-the-Street” Interviews Following the Attack on Pearl Harbor. ...
- Black Oral History Collection. ...
- Civil Rights History Project at the Library of Congress. ...
- Civil Rights in Mississippi Digital Archives.
What are the types of oral history?
Some researchers collect oral traditions, including legends, folklore, and family stories passed down through the generations. When gathering oral tradition, document also the storytellers’ accounts of how they received the tradition, from whom, when, where, and why. Research the topic.
What are the characteristics of oral history?
Rather, they are intended to generate reflections and insights on the past . Oral histories generally consist of three distinct phases: a pre-interview phase, the interview itself, and a post-interview phase.
How reliable is oral history?
Because oral histories rely on the memory of individuals, some of my colleagues believe they are less reliable sources than written documents. But oral histories really can correct, confirm, and add to the historical record .
What are the disadvantages of oral history?
Oral history has many advantages, but as a primary source there are a few disadvantages. One of which is an individual recalling a false memory . In some cases when events took plave more than forty years ago, the individual could have trouble remembering the exact details of their experience.
How do you collect oral history?
- Formulate a central question or issue.
- Plan the project. ...
- Conduct background research.
- Interview.
- Process interviews.
- Evaluate research and interviews and cycle back to. ...
- Organize and present results.
- Store materials archivally.
Who used oral history?
In Western society, the use of oral material goes back to the early Greek historians Herodotus and Thucydides , both of whom made extensive use of oral reports from witnesses. The modern concept of oral history was developed in the 1940s by Allan Nevins and his associates at Columbia University.
What are the benefits of oral tradition?
Advantages and disadvantages of oral traditions as a source of information . – It can provide information where there are no written sources. – It is suitable for even the illiterate in the society. – A narrator can conceal/hide important information.
What is a synonym for oral history?
Part of speech:
In this page you can discover 6 synonyms, antonyms, idiomatic expressions, and related words for oral history, like: , narrative history , oral record, survivors’ account, witnesses’ account and firsthand account.
What is the difference between oral and written history?
Oral history is often one person’s point of view , unless someone gathers a series of interviews on the same issue together in a volume. ... A traditional written history, by contrast, uses a variety of sources, which may include oral interviews, government reports, newspaper articles, letters, diaries and personal papers.
What is local or oral history?
Local history is the study of history in a geographically local context and it often concentrates on the local community. It incorporates cultural and social aspects of history. ... Historic plaques are one form of documentation of significant occurrences in the past and oral histories are another.
