How can we be a historiographer of oral history?

Mohammad Mahdi Abdollahzadeh
Translated by Fazel Shirzad

2017-5-28

About photo: The preparation workshop of art centers oral history, Tehran, winter 1396(2016); this is the photo of the members of Semnan city and North Khorasan. They are being gotten familiar with face of Tehran City by Mohammad Qasem Pur.

Note: A considerable amount of people who had education in the field of history or other related disciplines or even unrelated ones, started to work in this field practically as a member due to necessity for recording important historical events of Iran's Islamic revolution and Iraqi imposed war against Iran.

Concerning the responsibility to record important events of revolution and war etc., some of organization, institutions, offices, organs, communities, universities, foundation etc., tried to step admirably towards increasing knowledge and motivation, for capable and interested people by holding classes, training course, workshops, congress, magazine and book publication, making weblogs, groups, association etc., in which the efforts of art center were more notable. Regardless of efforts, the shortage of qualified human force is noticeable in this field; it causes fine and particular memoirs not to be unavailable for public and to be forgotten forever. 

Furthermore, the title "Oral History" leads to ambiguity for some people; and oral history doesn’t know itself competent enough to attend in this field. Whereas, oral history is able to work in this field and show itself well; it can publish some written works in history as a reference for other.   

Certainly, successful and famous people of this field were not skillful and hadn’t enough knowledge as much as today; they are always getting better then yesterday by everyday activities and studies. The existential philosophy of oral history is an active and special conversation with activists and observers of events and important actions. It is also clear that discourse method is used in this kind historiography. In writing history formally, historiographer often used of political power source, but it is mainly different in oral history; the group of oral history work with public. This kind of approach causes people to participate in historiography.

It causes, thus, people to find themselves effective in history instead of standing on the margin of history inconsiderably. The attendance of people to make history causes the reformation of history to be done easily. To prove this claim, it is enough to look books have been published in Iran in the field of revolution and war. Many narrators or interviewees of these books who had main role in publishing historical books; perhaps, they have never though that these book would be come to historiographers’ notice.

Concerning valuable activities in the field of oral history, it is necessary to answer this question: "how can we be historiographer of oral history?"

The features of oral history's historiographer

1. Preceding step by step to work in the field of oral history will causes the historiographers to have self-confidence more. If those who come into the field of oral history and take the steps, especially when they join to group of oral history, or act as an assistance with a veteran; they, in fact, will have a training course. Also, it seems that it causes trainees to improve their skills and knowledge further during the performance of primary outlines by use of a historiographer's council who is an expert theoretical and practical issue.
2. Reading excessively books which are highly related to oral history. These kinds of books can be used for their style and knowledge; because, one of the learning method is modal learning. But, unfortunately, some books which are published in the field of oral history, are structurally similar to novel and literature than oral history; such books consist of literary inasmuch as no litterateur can include such words in his or her book.

         Seyed Ghasem Ya-Husseini says about the necessity of study for     historiographers of oral history: "in Iran, the most salient weakness of historiographers is illiteracy, unfamiliarity with historiography and lack of skill in criteria of oral history.[1]

1. A systematical approach on oral history. If someone has a systematical approach, he will be able to criticize and evaluate the all part of a system; at top of these affairs, he or she shouldn’t forget "self- evaluation"; therefore, for this reason, s/he can watch video of his/her interviews as a critic or valuator. S/he may ask his/her colleagues to get help, or may use of experts' opinion in this case.
2. Using some equipment such as tape recorder, camera, computer for typing the scripts of interviews, not work to connect easily, electronic memory adapted for saving interview, and choosing a suitable place at home or an available place to do works comfortably.
3. Improving professional knowledge every day and not forgetting the study of oral history. S/he, in fact, believes:" no one knows everything, but everyone knows something." Thus, today s/he is more successful then yesterday to do works. Herein, Mohammad Darudian says: "historiography is resulted from kind of history-view:" it means historiographer influences in thoughts and theoretical thought and hypothesis view of historical event after knowing about the condition of it. This case causes the historiographer to take new step in the historical events, and get him/her to redefine oral remake the event. One the one hand, therefore, the historiographer in describing, explaining, interpreting, specifying an event both through the events are related to past and new perspective is effected by present condition.[2]
4. Safekeeping is one of the most factors to work in the field of oral history. She is not imaginary and hyperbole person. s/he doesn’t make mountain out of a molehill or Vic versa. In fact, s/he doesn’t like to make characterization; s/he tries to state everything, no more no less.
5. His/her motivation and perseverance should be exemplary ones in this field.
6. S/he should be completeness thorough inasmuch as to be familiar with general science specially research in science, particularly in social science, because the main pattern of science is same in all sciences.
7. S/he should be able to make formal speeches well. And be able to have a verbal relation with narrator effectively. 
8.   In the meeting of interview, s/he should be a listener chiefly to be able to continue the process of interview by asking suitable questions and sending non-verbal massages. Also, s/he should try to clear the interview by asking question; it means, s/he should consider the references of of narration.
9. By studying before interview, s/he provide a suitable questionnaire below each question.
10. Those, who are talent, agile, clear-sighted and sensitive to what narrator tell, with an acceptable mind, able to analyze the expression of narrator, and all side-looker, can be succeed in this field.  

13. In the interview and next steps, s/he should be a person without any political partisanship and take an active interest in research; such one, practically, is a person of trust, honesty, confidentiality, patience and tolerance and justice.

14.  S/he shouldn’t only rely on the narration, but s/he tries to help the narrator both to tell the events and the analysis. As Sorna Gilani said about Ibn Miskawayh that he not only rely on chronicle, but also he tried to find out the correct analysis of events and historical events. When he found the history of his age full of useless stories and hypnotic legends, he, among stories, make an effort to develop ones which are right and a beneficial experience for all.[3] In this case, Mr. Alireza Kamari says:" recording documents and stacking reports and chronology are not only factors of description of history, but the cause of event and explain why and what are the main issues of research in history.[4]

15.  Orthography and writing rules help to be able to transfer the narrator's tone. It is better to get into the habit to write a text together, and at the same time writing proficiency causes the present text need to be edited and distorted less.

The mentioned suggestions are written based on tens of research, personal experience and thought, and of course it requires to be reviewed and modified by colleagues.