| Historians use a variety of sources
to construct a historical narrative. Traditionally,
historians have relied exclusively on written sources
such as diaries, letters, newspapers, and government
reports. Oral history has its roots in the 1930s, when
the Works Progress Administration’s Federal
Writers Project recorded the narratives of living ex-slaves and others
with unique life experiences. Oral history increased
in popularity in the 1960s and 70s, when social history
emerged as a new subfield and historians began to search
for new ways to include the perspectives of all races
and classes of society, particularly those who had
not been represented in most written documents.
Until recently, oral history collections housed
sound recordings in various analog formats and researchers
had to visit them in person to access the recordings
and transcripts. With the advent of the Internet,
many programs have digitized existing collections
and begun recording interviews digitally in order
to broaden access. Digital formats also facilitate
preservation, since analog formats are in danger
of deteriorating and the original playback devices
are increasingly difficult to maintain as new digital
technology captures the market.
Oral
historians adhere to professional standards that
govern the rights of interviewees; the responsibilities
of interviewers; and the accuracy, quality, preservation,
and accessibility of recordings, transcripts, and
other by-products of interviews. (See the Principles
and Standards of the Oral History Association).
Responsible oral historians always obtain the interviewee’s
permission to make the interview publicly available
via a written, signed release form that is a binding
legal contract. This ensures that interviewees voluntarily
grant informed consent to disseminate the interview,
and also affords legal protection to the interviewer,
oral history program, and archival repository. Unlike
journalists, oral historians place a high value on
preserving the interview as a primary source that
is recorded and transcribed. Oral historians work
closely with archivists and librarians who provide
cataloging, preservation, and access services for
interviews.
Finally, oral historians value both the orality
and the textuality of interviews. Orality encompasses
the accent, inflection, tone of voice, and other
vocal characteristics that contribute to the meaning
of the spoken words. Oral interviews are enriched
and humanized by orality in ways that cannot be matched
by written sources. The textuality of the interview
when it is transcribed relates to its character as
a written document. Transcription communicates the
meaning of speech that may be unclear in its aural
form and allows researchers to accurately quote content
from the interview. It also enables researchers to
search within an individual interview transcript
or a whole collection of interviews for specific
words and phrases. The dual textual and audio nature
of oral history interviews makes them ideal for multimedia
presentations and also promotes access for sight-
and hearing-impaired individuals.
Online sources on the meaning of oral history:
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