Oral History Workshop – 5
Definitions
Shahed Yazdan
Translated by M. B. Khoshnevisan
2023-1-3
The oral history website is going to provide the educational materials of some oral history workshops to the audience in written form. The present series has been prepared using the materials of one of these workshops. As you will see, many of the provided contents are not original or less said contents, but we have tried to provide categorized contents so that they can be used more.
Defects of oral history
• Over time, the narrator may change his or her words or express them in a different way according to expedient things or circumstances.
• We are currently trying to judge the past time based on our likes and dislikes, conditions, political issues, etc., according to the events that have happened and the results we know.
• Erasing of memory is another defect of oral history that occurs over time.
• Another defect of oral history is self-censorship. One of these is to express or not to express some cases according to the current circumstances.
• Bragging is also one of the defects of oral history and is seen in memoirs to a large extent; especially the memories of people who are not involved in an event directly. It is the interviewer's art to determine who to go to during the interview and to recognize the bragging during the interview.
Editing
The memory we obtain from a person is not history; rather, it is a raw material that must be interacted with in order to become history. We call this process that turns memory into history as editing.
|
Editing is the stage that turns our raw material into history |
Verification
Verification in oral history is a principle; but firstly, it is not achieved everywhere, and secondly, it is not necessary everywhere. For instance, if a person describes a memory that no one else was present but himself, or the people who were present cannot be accessed due to reasons such as death, etc., it will not be possible to verify this memory.
But should oral history be left with these doubts? Will there be any validity to oral history despite this? As the saying goes, is the news a single proof? These are the things that must be answered in editing.
Analysis
As was mentioned earlier, analysis can be used in oral history in some cases. Analyzes appropriate to the narrator's level of responsibility are used in oral history, but other than that, it will not be useful. It is the duty of the interviewer to ask analytical questions appropriate to the narrator's level of responsibility.
For example, a book has been published in Iran in which the narrator recounted and analyzed the beginning of Imam Khomeini's movement in 1342 (1963), but the narrator of the book was born in 1340 (1961). This indicates that the correct way of doing the work is not followed.
In other words, analysis is an explanation and it means finding the cause of an incident, and the cause of an incident can be explained by someone who is in the heart of that incident.
In other words, analysis means bringing the cause, and it means finding the cause of an incident, and the cause of an incident can be explained by someone who is in the center of that incident.
Number of Visits: 3402
The latest
- Third Regiment: Memoirs of an Iraqi Prisoner of War Doctor – 29
- 100 Questions/28
- The 373rd Night of Memories – Part 6
- Memories of Farshid Eskandari
- Authenticating Oral History: From Possibility to Necessity
- Third Regiment: Memoirs of an Iraqi Prisoner of War Doctor – 28
- An Interview with Members of an Iraqi Mawkib Present at the Gatherings in Tehran
- Memoirs of Manizheh Lashkari
Most visited
- An Interview with Members of an Iraqi Mawkib Present at the Gatherings in Tehran
- The 373rd Night of Memories – Part 5
- Memoirs of Manizheh Lashkari
- 100 Questions/27
- Third Regiment: Memoirs of an Iraqi Prisoner of War Doctor – 28
- The 373rd Night of Memories – Part 6
- Memories of Farshid Eskandari
- Authenticating Oral History: From Possibility to Necessity
The Beating Pulse of a Nation at the Moment of Nowruz
Every year, in the days and nights leading up to Nowruz, Shohada Square had a special charm. A few days before the New Year, the shops would fill with customers, and street vendors would take over the sidewalks. You could find everything in their stalls (from items for the Haft Sin table, candles, goldfish, and spring flowers to clothes, bags, and shoes).The Editor's Missing Place on the “Deck”
The book From Deck to Heaven offers a relatively fresh approach to examining the role of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army Navy (AJA) during the eight years of the Sacred Defense, published under the “Oral History of the Islamic Revolution” series. To compile this book, the esteemed author has utilized documentary research (referring to relevant archival centers and selecting documents) and field research ...An Exceptional Haft‑Seen Table
I wanted to celebrate the new year with my family. Together with two relief workers I boarded buses designated for transporting the wounded to Choubideh and received our mission orders. We waited for a helicopter to take us to Bandar Imam Khomeini. I was stationed near the helicopter’s touchdown zone and was slight in build. As the helicopter was about to land, I could not steady myself; the breeze generated by the rotor blades lifted me off the ground.Spring under the shadow of war
Composing the Spring special for the new year in the past years was mostly along with hope, nature’s rebirth and the promise of renewal of life. Spring has always been a reminder for returning of life and peace after the Winters’ cold. This year though, another atmosphere has settled over our land in the last days of Esfand (March).
