Week 13_Oral Historiography.pptx

This presentation is on oral history based on the knowlegde of professional lectures of Fiji National University

1. HIS 601 – Week 13 Oral historiography

2. WHAT IS ORAL HISTORY? Information which comes from interviews by historians with people who have taken part in historical events. Oral history is becoming a popular means of obtaining information about the lives of ordinary people. In Africa, Asia and the Pacific, people of a generation born during pre-literate times are interviewed and their memories become the basis of history.

3. What do you think when you hear the words “oral history ”? Many define oral history as spoken stories about things that happened in the past. But confusion creeps in when we begin to examine the definition. Are family reminiscences oral history? What about oral traditions? Or journalists’ stories about past events ? What is the difference between each of these types of narratives and oral history? Is there a difference? Yes, there is, and this manual will help you learn about those differences and how to master oral history methodology.

4. Oral Literature The Ugandan scholar Pio Zirimu introduced the term orature in an attempt to avoid an oxymoron, but oral literature remains more common both in academic and popular writing Orature means something passed on through the spoken word, and because it is based on the spoken language it comes to life only in a living community. Where community life fades away, orality loses its function and dies. It needs people in a living social setting Pre-literate societies, by definition, have no written literature, but may possess rich and varied oral traditions—such as folk epics, folklore, proverbs and folksong—that effectively constitute an oral literature. Even when these are collected and published by scholars such as folklorists and paremiographers(those who study of the collection and writing of proverbs ), the result is still often referred to as "oral literature ".

5. Literate societies may continue an oral tradition - particularly within the family (for example bedtime stories) or informal social structures. The telling of urban legends may be considered an example of oral literature, as can jokes and also oral poetry including slam poetry which has been a televised feature on Russell Simmons' Def Poetry; performance poetry is a genre of poetry that consciously shuns the written form

6. Oral History 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. 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 for future generations. Oral history strives to obtain information from different perspectives and most of these cannot be found in written sources. Oral history also refers to information gathered in this manner and to a written work (published or unpublished) based on such data, often preserved in archives and large libraries

7. Oral History The term is sometimes used in a more general sense to refer to any information about past events that people who experienced them tell anybody else, but professional historians usually consider this to be oral tradition.

8. THE IMPORTANCE OF ORAL TRADITION AS AN INSTRUMENT OF HISTORY Absence of a written language makes oral tradition the most important form of transmission of knowledge, skills and information. A good memory is a very valuable asset and society gives respect and prestige to people who have the role of memorising huge chunks of information, e.g., priests.

9. DISADVANTAGES OF ORAL TRADITIONS They can be stolen and abused by outsiders without benefit to those who own the histories. Lack of linear chronology – no dates or western historical time-frame. The stories may possibly change over time. Bias: information that threatens people in power may be suppressed and forgotten, i.e., oral traditions may exclude the views of people who are opposed to those in power or the views of the poor and powerless. Oral traditions may die with their possessors when younger people refuse to learn the knowledge.

10. ADVANTAGES OF ORAL TRADITIONS Oral traditions are sources of information that Pacific islanders possess and control in their reconstruction of the past and the present. In this reconstruction, they provide another side of history which imperial histories of the islands often ignored. Visitors gain the opportunity to learn more about ‘local’ perceptions. Visitors gain a sense of reassessing values or prejudices. Pacific Islanders have the opportunity to take advantage of the lessons of their past in order to control their present and future. Pacific Islanders gain power and unity from the histories.

11. Oral historiography The term oral historiography is relatively new; This does not mean that oral histories have been practiced only recently; There are many that argued that oral historiography is as old as history itself. And that it was the first history method invented and practiced since the ancient days…

12. Oral historiography Herodotus (in Ancient Greece) conducted interviews to gather information to write about Greek-Persian wars (2500 BP); Another Greek historian, Thucydides, also interrogated many eyewitnesses of the Peloponnesian War (Greek civil war; aprox . 2400 BC)

13. Herodotus and Thucydides

14. Oral historiography In fact, until the 19 th Century, most historians relied on oral evidence/sources to write their books; Until then, historians thought that written documents should be but one source among many to be used; Many historians at that time wanted to counterbalance the evidence of o fficial written documents with popular oral traditions ;

15. Oral historiography The most famous French historian of the 19 th Century, Jules Michelet, argued that no history book was complete without oral evidence; According to him, oral traditions were based on the voice of common people (it gave accounts ‘from below’); Therefore, it balanced the official state narratives (coming from ‘above’);

16. Oral historiography For Jules Michelet, oral evidence was what “ remained generally scattered in the mouths of the people, which everybody said and repeated, peasants, townsfolk, old men, women, even children”

17. Oral historiography For Jules Michelet, oral evidence was what “remained generally scattered in the mouths of the people, which everybody said and repeated, peasants, townsfolk, old men, women, even children” Like most historians of the time, Michelet trained and skilled at listening , and drawing an informant out. But, starting in the 19th Century, oral sources lost prestige. Why?

18. Oral historiography The lost of prestige of oral history in the 19 th Century is related to the rise of Rankean historiography; Ranke declared that history should follow the scientific model; History had to be objective, universal and empirical (based on observation and experience); As a result, Ranke argued that historians should use of written, archival sources; To Rankeans, oral evidence was not a reliable source

19. The key elements of oral history are the essential framework that guides oral history practitioners . Careful attention to copyright and other legal and ethical issues A structured, well-researched interview format A controlled, recorded interview setting Collection of firsthand information Probing follow-up questions that seek depth and detail Use of high-quality recording equipment Adherence to careful processing techniques Provisions for making the interviews available to others at an accessible repository

20. Brief history of oral historiography In the past (before humans invented written languages), all histories were oral histories; But not only history was remembered orally; But everything else in societies: laws, crafts and skills, the time and season, speeches, transactions, etc… Eminent oral historian Jan Vansina has studied the social importance of oral traditions in African cultures

21. Brief history of oral historiography In many African cultures, people are trained since a very young age to keep and pass down the collective memory; Oral traditions place a huge importance on mnemotechnics (practices and techniques that aid a person’s memory) “ In Africa, when an old man dies, it's a library burning.“ Hampâté Bâ As a result, oral histories are very reliable systems for handing down information from generation to generation with a minimum of distortion

22. Brief history of oral historiography Societies based on oral traditions emphasize: 1- the importance of songs; 2- of versed/rhymed information (poetry) 3- group testimony on ritual occasions; 4- open public debates on community issues; 5- specialized schools for teaching traditional lore (information passed from person to person by word of mouth);

23. Brief history of oral historiography All of these practices help to preserve exact texts through the centuries; In places where oral traditions prevails, they substitute legal documents, constitutions and/or sacred books; the carriers oral traditions become specialized officials in many African states;

24. Oral historiography in Rwanda The genealogists ( abacurahwenge ) are responsible to remembering the lists of nobles (particularly kings and queen mothers); the memorialists ( abateekerezi ) , should remember the most important events of the various kingdoms ; the rhapsodists ( abasizi ) took care of the reputation of the kings (great feats, works, etc); Lastly, the abiiru , held the memory of secrets of each dynasty .

25. Oral historiography in Rwanda “ I teach kings the history of their ancestors so that the lives of the ancients might serve them as an example, for the world is old, but the future springs from the past” Rwandan memorialist

26. Griots and oral history in Africa Griot is the word used to refer to Africans who are at the same time historian, storyteller, poet musician. They are responsible for safeguarding the oral tradition of a community; Because of their importance, their are considered a community leaders; Their are often advisers to high politicians

27. Oral historiography But oral history bearers are not restricted to the African continent; Many other cultures also have their versions, such as: The Scandinavian skald (poets who remembered the stories and feats of north European kingdoms) The bards (who performed a similar history-telling roles in Wales) Contemporary rappers…

28. Oral historiography In Western universities, oral history began to lose prestige in the 19 th Century; As mentioned, because of Rankean historiography, most historians placed a central importance on written sources; Nonetheless, there has been a revival of oral historiography during the 20 th century. Why?

29. Revival of oral historiography Critique of Rankean historiography (its limitations; its elitism: “history from above”) Decolonization of the world (new countries wanted to tell non-Eurocentric histories) Civil rights movements of the 1960s (women, Afro-Americans wanted to tell their own histories “from below”) De-colonial-Indigenous movements (attempts to create histories with non-Western approaches)

30. Revival Oral historiography History changed: so did the writing of history (historiography); Excluded/oppressed/ marginalised groups wanted to tell their own histories… But written-official sources hardly had any information about Afro-descendants, women, gays, lesbians, Indigenous groups… Oral historiography became a path for them to tell their histories

31. Oral historiography method From the Oral History Association http://www.oralhistory.org ; Oral history methodology is transdisciplinary; That is, it based on a number of academic disciplines, including history, anthropology, law, journalism, and psychology Their interview styles contain a number of strengths and weaknesses

32. Oral historiography method the skilled oral historian should be prepared to use the expertise pioneered by each of these disciplines! Oral history is related to “the art of interviewing” Each of these disciplines (history, anthropology, law, journalism, and psychology ) has enriched the interview process

33. Oral history project 3 phases: 1- preliminary research; 2- writing a treatment; 3- completing the interview process.

34. Preliminary Research (1 st phase) 1.1 Literature search: Identify and research existing secondary and primary historical records. 1.2 Prepare an historical file containing materials from sources relating to the life experiences of the subjects to be interviewed

35. Preliminary Research (1 st phase) 1.3 Biographical file. Prepare a biographical file for each subject to be interviewed it should include all personal details of the interviewed; If possible, include newspaper articles, book reviews, journal articles about him/her

36. Preliminary Research (1 st phase) 1.4 Based on this research, determine the order the subjects should be interviewed 1.5 Contact the subject personally, by telephone or email; To explain the purpose and scope of the project for him or her To make an appointment for an overview interview

37. Designing a treatment (2 nd phase) 2.1 Conduct an Overview Interview. This is a general session, lasting no more than an hour; the questions should be general in scope, and directed only to the subject's personal experiences. The objective is to define the subject's involvement in the issues you are investigating, and to identify those areas where he or she can shed new light on the topic or issue being studied.

38. Designing a treatment (2 nd phase) 2.2 Writing a Treatment. Based on your preliminary research and overview Interview, write a treatment for your oral history project. The treatment contains a list of the new and specific topics to be covered in the following interviews; The treatment is given to the subject before the start of the interview process ; it helps the subject prepare for each recording session; and enhances the accuracy of the testimony while preserving the spontaneity of the interview

39. completing the interview process (3 rd phase) 3.1 The interviews should be conducted at a site selected by the subject Usually their residence-and, if at all possible, in a room away from the telephone, television (they interfere with the quality of the recording) Ideally, the interview should not exceed 60 minutes, and there should never be more than one session per week; After the completion of each interview, you sent a copy and transcription of interview to the subject

40. Tips for historians-Interviewers 1. Establish eye contact. LISTEN! LISTEN! LISTEN! 2. Be non-judgmental. Don't let your research show. 3. Create a non-threatening, relaxed environment. 4. Ask questions that require more than a "yes" or "no“ answer. 5. Ask one question at a time. 6. Ask brief questions. 7. Start with non-controversial questions, and save the delicate ones, if there ate any, until later in the interview. 8. Do not let brief periods of silence bother you?

41. Tips for historians-Interviewers 9. Do not worry if your questions are not as beautifully phrased, as you would like them to be for posterity. 10. Do not interrupt a good story because you have thought of a question, or because your narrator is straying from your planned outline. 11. Try to establish at important points in the interview where the narrator was or what his or her role was in the event. (This will enable you to determine how much is eyewitness information and how much is based on reports of others.) 12. Do not challenge accounts you think may be inaccurate. 13. Try to conduct the interview with only one narrator present.