Situating Stories
The Surprising Consequences of Oral History
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11077334 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Vicki L Ruiz (corresponding author) |
| Year | 1998 |
| Volume | 25 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 71-80 |
| Publication date | 1998-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Oral History Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0094-0798 • E-ISSN: 1533-8592 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/ohr/25.1.71 |
| OpenAlex | W2326037262 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
For almost two decades, I have incorporated oral history into my upper division undergraduate courses, assignments which for selected students become intellectual (and at times personal) journeys. They learn more than family stories, a neighbor's life, or a stranger's tale, but also come away with an understanding of reconstruct and interpret narratives, the sinew and muscle of historical discourse. In classes with such titles as Immigration and American Life and Conquests and Migrations: Mexican American History, students interview, transcribe, edit, contextualize, and historicize. Discussions of appropriate questions, of equipment and release forms, and most importantly, of trust and insight occur throughout the course, especially as the due date for the oral history project looms closer in the academic calendar. Early in the semester undergraduates raise how to questions, such as choosing equipment or starting conversations, then later they contribute their narrators' stories as they relate themes addressed in readings and lectures (e.g. experiences of teenagers who wore zoot suits during World War II). Competing and even conflicting interpretations come the fore and for many, they begin a self-reflexive process about their roles as interviewers and their responsibilities as historians. Of course, some students approach the assignment as nothing more than that-a class project which has little or nothing do with their own lives. I cannot convey truly numbing it is
Aesthetics · American history · Art · Class (philosophy) · Epistemology · Immigration · Literature · Narrative · Nothing · Oral history · Reflexivity · Social science · Sociology · Upper class · Anthropology · History · Oral History, Memory, Narrative Analysis · Philosophy · Psychology
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,14 |
| Citation span | 2004 - 2025 (22) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |