A STUDY OF THE CONTRIBUTION OF ORAL HISTORY IN THE RECONSTRUCTION OF HISTORY.
Anitha T
Research Scholar, Department of History
Bangalore University, Bangalore -56
Mail Id: laughyani@gmail.com
Abstract
Oral history is the collection of the ideas that are hidden and study of historical information about families, important events, and festivities, great achieves local art and architecture or transcriptions of planned interviews from people. These are information collected from people who participated in past events. Oral history helps us like round out the story of the past. At the times an interview may serve as the only source of information available about a certain place or person so this information is very useful to reconstruction of traditional history. This is the method of conducting historical research through recorded interviews. Oral history also refers to information gathered in this manner and this is unique method of reconstruction of history. Oral history often touches on topics scarcely touched on by written documents, and by doing so, fills in the gapes of records that make up early historical documents.
Keywords: local knowledge, culture, folklore, oral history, steps of reconstruction of history.
Introduction
Oral heritage is a field of study and a method of gathering, preserving and interpreting the voices and memories of people, communities and participants in past events. oral history is both the oldest type of historical inquiry, predating the written word and one of the most modern initiated with tape recorders in the 1940s and now using 21st century digital technologies.
Oral history collects memories and personal commentaries of historical significance through recorded interviews. An oral history interview generally consists of a well – prepared interviewer questioning an interview are transcribed, summarized or indexed and then placed in a library or archives. These interviews in a publication, radio or video documentary, museum exhibition, dramatization or other form of public presentation, recordings, transcripts, catalogues, photographs and related documentary materials can also be posted on the internet.
Oral history does not include random taping, this is information collected by step by step. It is like dialogue between interviewer and interviewee. Through oral history and life history, researchers are able to gain a deeper understanding of a historical experience. Oral history involves interviewing people about their historical lived experiences. Similar methodologies include narrative analysis and biography.
Oral heritage is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes or transcriptions of planned interviews, 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 oral record for future generations.
Oral history strives to obtain information from different perspectives and most of these cannot be found in written sources. Oral history also refers to information gathered in this manner and to a written work its mean published or unpublished. Based on data preserved in archives and large libraries.
Knowledge presented by oral history is unique in that it shares the tacit perspective, thoughts, opinion and understanding of the interviewee in its primary form. The term is sometimes used in a more general sense to refer to any information about past even is that people who experienced them tell anybody else. But professional historians usually consider this to be oral tradition.
METHODS
Oral history it’s purely based on interview. Oral historians generally prefer to ask open ended questions and avoid leading questions that encourage people to say what they think the interviewer wants them to say.
In our previous orally recorded focused on interviews with prominent politicians, diplomats, military officers. But in 1960s to 1970s onwards influenced by the rise of new social history. Oral historian’s attempt to record the memories of many different people when researching a given event interviewing a single person provides a single perspective, individuals may misremember events or distort their account for personal reasons by interviewing widely; oral historians seek points of agreement among many different sources, and also record the complexity of the issues. The nature of memory both individual and community is as much a part of the practice of oral history as are the stories collected.
Oral history preservation is the field that deals with care and upkeep of oral history materials, whatever format they may be in. oral history is a method of historical documentation, using interviews with living survivors of the time being investigated. Oral history often touches on topics scarcely touched on by written documents, and by doing so, fills in the gapes of records that make up early historical documents.
The earliest method of collecting oral history was through memory, with the loss of elders who were willing to preserve and pass along these historians, cultural memories began to vanish.With the advent of the written word, it became passible for cultures to preserve their history without the memory of a select few. Spoken word was transcribed, and the eyewitness accounts of there that lived through both significant and everyday events were able to be saved for future generations to study.
This method of historical preservation was increase with the invention of different methods to record sound. Spoken word can now be recorded an audio or video tape or through news digital methods. At present media is also allows for information to be saved. Such as issue being that of copyright and the ethical concerns that come along with it. Uses sign this document before listening to an oral history recording in order to demonstrate that they understand and have agreed to the usage destructions put in place by the institution.
Collecting and discussing aspects of writing that were not recorded in written texts is the cornerstone of history. Here how to use the details of the heritage to make reconstruction of history? When making or creating a history, then historians rely on written citations, letters, newspapers, diaries, government documents, memorials, inscriptions, coins and sculptures etc. in addition to these can be accessory citations are myths, legends, beliefs, folk tales, sobana words etc. also complement the structure of history to understand how these sources are helpful in reconstructing history. One thing must first we understand what is oral history? Oral history is the process of collecting and transcribing such ideas in to the memory of people.
The oral historian john shearden day heart. She has warned that “if the historian abandons oral history, both the political and the type recorder will be lost to journalism”. It is shows how much believes in oral history she has. The use of oral history became inevitable in the time of 1st world war. After in 1948 there was a rebirth of oral history. As a result of this, the oral history association was established in 1974. finland was the first country of the worked on oral history. The establishment of “Kalevala University” located in Finland. This university is a backbone of study of oral history. With the contribution of the University of Kalevala, almost every country today has steered towards of oral history. In the 19th century, epics succeeded in reviving by oral history.
In Karnataka has recently become increasingly importance study of oral history. So in 2011 “folk university” was established in Karnataka. It is located in GOTOGODI, Shiggavi taluk, Haveri district, in Karnataka. chancellars, Ambalike Hiriyanna. He has been provided more information and guidance to researchers on the study of oral history. Nationwide workshops, seminars, discussions, annual sessions are held nationally with regarded to oral history it will goes well good contribution about an oral history.
Oral history can be identified in these stages from the point of view of the study. These stages complement can be helpful in the reconstruction of history.
If we have to following these steps will help to reconstruct the history from the oral history. The role of oral heritage or history is very significant in the history of Europe, Africa and Asia. Is known it is against this background that one can notice how extensive the scope of oral history. There was a lot of written evidence for the structure of European history but not for African history. So it should not be forgotten that only the help of oral tradition has helped to preserve the history of the African people.
Conclusion
Overall, oral history has played an increasingly important role in the reconstruction of history. Nowadays the importance of oral history has made it a new experience for research students of history. Oral history is on the way to study the next generation.
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