Oral History Theory

by Lynn Abrams

Oral history is increasingly acknowledged as a key tool for anyone studying the history of the recent past. This book is the first to provide a comprehensive and systematic overview of oral history theory in an accessible format. The book is structured around key themes, including the peculiarities of oral history, the study of the self, subjectivity and intersubjectivity, memory, narrative, performance and power. Each chapter provides a clear and user-friendly explanation of the various theoretical approaches, illustrates them with examples from the rich field of published oral history, and makes suggestions for the practicing oral historian. There is also a glossary of key terms and concepts. Combining the study of theoreticians with the observations of practitioners, and including extensive examples of oral history work from around the world, this book constitutes the first integrated explanation of oral history theory. It will be invaluable to experienced and novice oral historians, professionals, and students who are new to the discipline.

Genres: Oral History, History, Nonfiction, Theory, Research, Academia

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Lynn Abrams is Professor of Gender History at the University of Glasgow.

Reviews

[Esmée · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hoewel het me veel tijd en moeite heeft gekost om dit boek uit te lezen, geef ik het toch 4 ⭐️ aangezien het een goed en relevant werk is gebleken voor mijn thesis (brrr het verboden t-woord)

Oral History Theory is een heldere inleiding tot de (theorie van de) praktijk van mondelinge geschiedenis, met interessante (onderzoeks)voorbeelden ter verduidelijking!

[Cas · Rating 4 out of 5]

i’m thinking big thoughts… enjoyed how scientific it got at certain points

[Sian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really useful and interesting read for my PhD work - if you're looking for a good and easy to comprehend explanation of oral history theoretical frameworks then this is the book for you! It's filled with examples of different projects and the further reading list at the back is really comprehensive as well ☺️

[Marios Antoniou · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good introduction to the principles and methodology of oral history, useful for university students but also amateurs interested in the topic. Completely changed my outlook from skepticism towards to oral history to determination to engage in oral history professionally! Admittedly, it's a bit difficult to read at times, but it's worth it, and amongst Oral History Books it is probably amongst the most-approachable and jargon-free

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick read and thorough overview of the theoretical framework of conducting oral history. Each chapter is organized in a way that this book can be read in it’s entirety or each chapter as a stand alone depending on your reference needs. I’m looking forward to diving into the oral history projects referenced throughout the book.

[Melvyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clear, jargon-free exposition of oral history theory and practice with focused surveys of the self, subjectivity and intersubjectivity, memory, narrative, performance, power and trauma in this context. I am particularly interested in the overlap between translation studies and oral history, so I was keen to read the description of the interpreter's role in oral history interviews, especially with regard to traumatic experience. (Slightly surprised the author refers to such interpreters as translators but no matter.)
The book comes with a useful companion website presenting chapter summaries, learning materials, case studies, glossary and bibliography:
https://routledgetextbooks.com/textbo...

Some interesting insights and ideas:

Oral historians also need to engage with some of the analytical and presentational techniques employed by film and media scholars.

Historians who conduct and use oral history have learned to be promiscuous in their use of theoretical perspectives and borrow analytical techniques from literature and linguistics, psychology and anthropology, folklore studies and the performance arts to name a few.

The rediscovery of oral history in the 1950s and 1960s, following decades during which the oral source was shunned in favour of the written record, was informed in part by the European tradition of ethnology and folklore collection which had always privileged the spoken voice as a respository of tradition, and then by the emergence of social history and historical sociology...

In the USA, the writer and broadcaster Studs Terkel took oral history to the masses via his radio programmes.

Narrative is a form which is used to translate knowing into telling.

Subjectivity - accessing it, even celebrating it - is the bread and butter of oral history.

These days, oral historians privilege interiority; we try to encourage our respondents to produce coherent narrative selves in interview

To be continued

[sorrowmancer · Rating 5 out of 5]

didnt know much oral history theory and now i know some. thank you, lynn abrams

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good, clear intro to the theoretical and methodological issues involved in doing oral history.