Oral history essay sample. Oral History Essay Examples 2022-10-28
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Oral history is the study of the past through the use of recorded interviews with people who experienced the events firsthand. It is an important method for preserving and understanding history, as it allows us to learn about the experiences and perspectives of individuals who may not have left behind written records. In this essay, we will explore the significance of oral history and examine a sample oral history interview to better understand how this type of historical research is conducted.
One of the key benefits of oral history is that it allows us to gain a more nuanced and personal understanding of the past. Written records, such as newspapers, government documents, and diaries, can provide valuable information about events and trends, but they often lack the depth and detail that come from hearing someone describe their experiences in their own words. Oral history interviews provide an opportunity to hear the stories and memories of people who lived through historical events, giving us a more personal and human perspective on the past.
Oral history also helps to preserve the experiences and perspectives of underrepresented or marginalized groups. Many people who have made significant contributions to society may not have left behind written records, or their contributions may not have been widely recognized. Oral history interviews can help to preserve the stories of these individuals and ensure that their contributions are not forgotten.
To illustrate the process of conducting an oral history interview, we will examine a sample interview with a woman named Maria who immigrated to the United States from Mexico in the 1960s. The interview was conducted by a historian named Sarah, who asks Maria about her experiences immigrating to the United States and adjusting to life in a new country.
Sarah: Could you tell me a little bit about your background and how you came to immigrate to the United States?
Maria: I was born and raised in a small village in Mexico. My family was very poor and we struggled to make ends meet. When I was in my 20s, I met a man who was from the United States and he offered to bring me here to live with him. I was hesitant at first, but I ultimately decided to take the chance and come to the United States.
Sarah: What was the process of immigrating like for you?
Maria: It was very difficult. I had to leave my family and everything I knew behind. The journey to the United States was long and difficult, and I didn't speak any English when I arrived. It was a very overwhelming experience.
Sarah: How did you adjust to life in the United States?
Maria: It was a big adjustment. Everything was so different here. The culture, the language, the food. It was all very unfamiliar to me. I was also very homesick and missed my family a lot. But I was determined to make a new life for myself here, so I worked hard to learn English and adapt to my new surroundings. It wasn't easy, but I was able to build a new life for myself here.
This sample oral history interview illustrates how historians can use this type of research to gain a deeper understanding of the experiences and perspectives of individuals who have lived through significant historical events. By asking open-ended questions and allowing Maria to speak in her own words, Sarah is able to gain valuable insights into Maria's experiences and the challenges she faced as an immigrant to the United States.
In conclusion, oral history is an important method for preserving and understanding the past. It allows us to gain a more personal and nuanced understanding of historical events through the experiences and perspectives of individuals who lived through them. By conducting oral history interviews and preserving the stories of underrepresented or marginalized groups, we can ensure that the rich tapestry of human history is not forgotten.
oral history Essay Sample
The interviewee could also be having personal agenda to extort the historian in exchange of information. The early cultures that populated the nascent Western World were all unique; proximity, difficulty, and a mastery of… Authenticity in Multicultural Narratives of experience and language -- the problem of Rigoberta Menchu's I, Rigoberta Menchu On the surface, there is no 'problem,' one might say, given the astounding achievement of native Guatemalan opposition leader and community activist Rigoberta Menchu. One must remember the job of a historian is to recount a story and not scientific fact. A primary source is considered to be something that is created by a person who witnessed an event. Aboriginal people never wrote or documented their stories and rituals; it was all passed down by word of mouth. In the story How Death Came to Earth I had forgot the names of some of the spirits.
In other cases, the respondents are pretenders who do not have any important historical information and they only want to extort or manipulate historical information. Specifically, it will discuss and include Frances Manuel's tribal origins, traditions, and culture of this American Indian woman in the past, present, and future, along with contemporary issues as she functions in Tribal and non-Indian societies. I, too, am an adult, but in my family, age comes before everything; and because I am younger, I am treated as such and am expected to behave a certain manner towards the elders in my family. Oral history is cheaper than other historical information source and gathering methods. Preparing for the interview Before the interview, familiarize yourself with the history and characteristics of the culture your interviewee is from.
The Main Problems Related To Oral History: [Essay Example], 1308 words GradesFixer
His or her word choice, grammar, and ideas should be transcribed as accurately as possible. There are many cultures that are related to Native Americans, but today I will discuss only one which is the Cherokee. This essay will briefly introduce three prominent American Jewish Women who have played a contemporary role in upholding and preserving Jewish Tradition in the broadest sense. The stories were communicated; they connected the natural life in the sky, the stars and the earth, the people and the animals, the land and life; it connected everyone and unified everything. When professors use oral history projects in classes, they usually ask you to interview only one or two people. Oral history also serves for the use of research, museum exhibition, public presentations, documentaries, and others.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt and George W. Historians engage explaining events by using primary and secondary evidence to describe the chronology of events. Studs Terkel interviewed over 120 people by inquiring them to tell… standard joke about America in the 1960s claims that, if you can remember the decade, you did not live through it. A park and cultural center honor the Tulsa Race Riot, and the Chamber of Commerce plans a larger museum to… Trouillot, Michel-Rolph. Today you will scarcely find a job or institution were women are not allowed, had I not read this chapter it would have been very difficult for me to understand what women at this time went through. Oral history is a formal presentation of past events by word of mouth. Probably one of the saddest things about her stories was that it was truth, not fiction.
According to the Columbian encyclopedia, ancient societies depended on stories that passed to them orally with the absence of writing to know the history and so to transfer it to the generation after them. The folklorists do research and interview, but they do not confirm or do not compare the information with other evidence to see whether it is fact or not. Historians have a very difficult job because they must be able to take in information and interpret it in responsible ways. However, we do know a great deal about everyday experience in our own time and culture, and a large part of that knowledge comes not from textbooks but from talking to others. Together we discussed her life in detail, she held nothing back, and we examined her life through the lens of the broader context of the history of women in the U.
Oral History And Archiving Memories in South Africa 6. I would like to make the case that the three longest-lasting social changes came with America's forced adjustment to new realities on the international scene, with Vietnam; on the domestic scene, with the Civil Rights movement; and… Scott paints a vivid picture of the social history of the area; lack of lumber for support, lack of trained people to help with the safety issues and a lack of understanding their new regime. They are quickly being removed or broken and unfixed. From the interviews, one can establish how the Phokeng community regarded the female members of their community, how they initiated their youth and how they related with their neighboring communities. Now knowledge is not truth, and the application of science is to search for the truth as can be best explained testing and understanding within bounded constraints. Due to the length of the interview, we will focus upon the first 30-60 minutes of the interview, specifically to analyze the initial foundational issues of Polish anti-semitism, the initial German occupation of Poland and life in the ghetto and slave labor in a steel factory under guard of the Ukrainian guards in and out of Ostrowiec, Poland.
The earliest forms of world literature were oral and passed on by word of mouth. Oral testimony cannot replace analysis of traditional historical materials official documents, letters, newspapers, secondary sources, etc. Oral historian would most likely interview husband and wife separately because the historian wants to more about each particular experience and their views individually. If you felt limited, why do you think that might have been? How did we end up believing some of the things we believe? Bond's book Mississippi: A Documentary History, the author describes in great detail the restlessness and anxiety that white folks in Mississippi felt with reference to the institution of slavery. Interviewing is a complex and demanding task. This work is licensed under a You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It is through storytelling that the Native Americans have the ability to give their traditions and cultural identities.
Oral History Essay Examples and Topics at Eduzaurus
How then can we assess the three most important themes in this broad social change? As a result of reforms in the society women became powerful economically and socially. These characterizations became inaccurate when Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe stepped up in power as president and were forced to compromise their political views for the benefit of the country in the face of war, economic pressure, and threats to the Union. Oral history is important because it is like a firsthand source of information, which is usually more reliable than secondary sources such as books and archives. To do so, historians record the information in textbooks and other nonfiction works. It is quite apparent that the global society in which we live has become so much inter-connected that almost all events… American History? In the 1700's there was a boom in tobacco sales and it became one of the leading trades in the Chesapeake colonies, other than slave trade. These ideas came to us via books or through oral history in stories and songs. If not, that would badly impact on the interviewer by feeling confused and hesitate and so the interviewee would not be able to explain further important information.
The lake offers a relaxing workday intermission for thousands of office employees. In war… any person admired for qualities or achievements and regarded as an ideal or model. Bush used similar policies to combat further attacks and unite the nation The paper highlights the entwined American reactions to the September 11 attacks and the Pearl Harbor attacks. He is completely at home in his duties as a pastor such as preaching, teaching Sunday School, visiting, counseling and mentoring, as well as being equally comfortable operating in the political world. Many went bankrupt and abandoned their farms, turning into migrant workers and economic refugees on the West Coast. The people seeing his hard work and success at controlling the canal respected him highly, and he became the ruler of the Xia tribe. The white army bombed the village and killed everyone who was in it, too.
Oral History Essays: Examples, Topics, Titles, & Outlines
In situations like this, revealing the information gathered for a research about some important people like a politician or public figure without having the permission to do so could lead to further harms. Local folklore is preciously a specific kind of social system which existed before we knew about it, it is a way a community believes and pass the stories from generation to generation. Women hold many positions in society that aid this role including more traditional roles for women, such as mother or teacher, as well as contemporary roles, such as writer, politician, or other professional. C and D are especially common in undergraduate assignments of this type, but every assignment is different. However, others became career soldiers, such as Sergeant Major Edgar Huff.
