What is Oral History?
Oral history interviews investigate interactions, relationships, dynamics, and contexts. Oral historians gather the histories, recollections, and knowledge of a broad range of people, often allowing those underrepresented in written history, to contribute to current and future generations’ knowledge of places, events, and culture. The Oral History Collection contains interviews gathered by Atkins Library and UNCC faculty, staff, and students as well as interviews donated by community partners, such as the Levine Museum of the New South.
Oral history is a qualitative method of collecting and preserving unrecorded information about the past that fill gaps in the written record and results in the creation of primary resources. Tape-recorded interviews can replace many of the missing elements that are vital to historical studies. Oral history methodology differs from many other types of interviews, including journalism, ethnographic, sociological, and folklore. Oral history interviews are formal and tend to focus on historical and cultural phenomena and events, rather than current affairs. For example, interviews conducted with victims of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, or Hurricanes Katrina and Rita would be considered oral history only when taken many years after the fact and in context of the individuals’ work, social, and family lives and experiences. Oral history methodology differs from other forms of interviewing because: • Consent and release (permission) forms are required • Interview focuses on life
Oral History is history that is told verbally not written down. It s THE most traditional way of retelling and learning history. The first oral historians were people who sat around an evening fire and told of their experiences and those of their ancestors as far back as they could remember. It was the only way to pass down and preserve the culture and the traditions of a group. Many civilizations gave high status to the best of their oral historians. In Celtic society, for example, this person was called a Bard and was given the task of creating epic sagas of the tribe s daring deeds cattle raids, battles, and other heroic doings that would then be recited at feasts and gatherings. In this way history was passed on and, in many instances, legends began. All of this occurred before there was such a thing as writing. Many of the earliest histories the Bible, “La Morte dArthur”, “The Book of Kells” are written collections of these earlier oral histories. But even today when we have books
When many people think about history, they think about dusty books and documents, archives and libraries, or remote castles and stately homes. In fact history is all around us, in our own families and communities, in the living memories and the experiences of older people. We have only to ask them and they can tell us enough stories to fill a library of books. This kind of history – that we all gather as we go through life – is called ORAL HISTORY. Everyone has a story to tell about their life which is unique to them. Some people have been involved in momentous historical events like the Second World War, but many others haven’t. Regardless of age or importance we all have interesting experiences to share. Most importantly, historical documents and books can’t tell us everything about our past. Often they concentrate on famous people and big events, and tend to miss out ordinary people talking about everyday events. They also neglect people on the margins of society – ethnic communitie
