The importance of oral historiography in different conditions and places

Translated by Fazel Shirzad

2016-4-10

Hojatoleslam Saeid Fakhr Zadeh, Oral History Unit Master of the Islamic Revolution Literature Office, in an interview with him was published on April 2016, said: “The importance of oral historiography is different in various conditions and places”  

He added: “if documents are properly recorded and made available, and also there is great scope and abundance, the importance of the written historiography will be high, and if there is not written documents, and it is limited, oral history will be considered as important.” For example, in developed countries, which have the written documents, oral history is in the sidelines and is acted as a complement. But oral history play crucial role in our country where there are not adequate documents, for example there are little and incomplete documents about Islamic Revolution time, in addition, most of them are related to security organizations such as SAVAK, in these circumstances, oral history is main importance”

Oral History Unit Master of the Islamic Revolution Literature Office: “In my opinion, the best option is to use a combination of both methods under normal circumstances. Essentially, oral history relies on intellectual assets, and mind and memory are faced to some threats that most important ones are forgetfulness, so collections of written and verbal documents can close us to reality more.  

You can read the text of this interview at the following address: http://yon.ir/GdLn