👥Oral Histories
A method to collect oral histories happening in your city
What is it about and why is it relevant ?
Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, important events, or everyday life. These interviews are conducted with people who participated in or observed past events and whose memories and perceptions of these are to be preserved as an aural record for future generations. Oral Histories serve as interpretive recollections of a site’s history, as the narrator compresses years of living into a few hours of talk, selecting - consciously and unconsciously - what to say and how to say it.
Oral History is a suitable and commonly-used method for effective community projects, and numerous toolkits can be found online (e.g here and here). The Oral History Association offers useful and comprehensive additional guidelines, as well as the Oral History Review.
Oral Histories as a method within CENTRINNO describes the wider approach to gathering the relevant information from stakeholders about their relationship to (the history of) a site. Utilising the approach to Oral History developed by the AHK enables pilot teams and other users of this approach to generate a stronger relationship with stakeholders via an improved communication, and also emphasises aspects of the identity of the site that are less well-known, less easy to document, or have been forgotten about. In much the same way as with Emotion Networking, this focus on the untold or neglected stories of pilot sites can encourage an addressing of the social inclusion focus within the CENTRINNO project.
Speaking to stakeholders personally is important as the act of talking is conducive to the unearthing of details that are part of a pilot site’s heritage, that may not be as easily identifiable in the form of documentation or architecture, to state two possible examples.
Step-by-steps guidelines for application
Find here a list of fundamental steps you should follow if you want to collect oral histories about your FCH and the neighbourhood or your city at large :
Main Purposes 👍
The adoption of Oral histories Methods can help your Fab City Hub initiative on the following aspects:
→ Preserving local heritage: you can capture and preserve the memories and stories of individuals who have witnessed or participated in significant events related to the site's history.
→ Enhancing community engagement: foster a stronger relationship with the community by involving local stakeholders in the storytelling process, making them active participants in documenting the site's history and sharing common memories and values.
→ Uncovering hidden narratives: Reveal personal stories or forgotten aspects of the site’s past that may not be evident through traditional documentation, architecture, or other physical evidence.
→ Promoting social inclusion: Address social inclusion by highlighting and valuing the stories of diverse community members, especially those whose contributions or experiences may have been overlooked.
Summary Table
Difficulty
Medium
Duration
Preparation: 1 day - Session itself: 1-2 hours
Facilitator I Participants
F= 1 (interviewer ) / P= up to 2
Setting
Online and Offline
Contact
hester.dibbits@ahk.nl - an additional expert is Judy Jaffe- Schagen, from whom much of the above guidance came.
CENTRINNO Tagging System
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