Experts answer to oral history questions

100 Questions/50

Are children and teenagers, suitable narrators for oral history projects?

Machine Translation Edited by Mandana Karimi

2026-10-6

We asked several researchers and activists in the field of oral history to express their views on oral history questions. The names of each participant are given at the beginning of their answers, and the text of all the answers will be published on this portal by the end of the week. The goal of this project is to open new doors to an issue and promote scientific discussions in the field of oral history.

In this project, a question is asked every Saturday, and we ask experts to present their views in the form of a short text (about 100 words) by the end of the week. All the answers will be published together so that the audience can compare and analyze the views.

The content is the opinions of the senders and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Oral History website. Although the answers are supposed to be about 100 words, in order to be polite and not to leave the discussion incomplete, in some cases, answers longer than this are also accepted.

This time, we asked experts to send their answers by Sunday night so that all answers can be published on Tuesday.

From the interweaving of these answers, using artificial intelligence, we have arrived at theories about oral history that will be published in the near future.

Question 50:

Are children and teenagers, suitable narrators for oral history projects?

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Answer to Question 50:

Gholamreza Azari Khakestar

In many cases, children and adolescents are not suitable narrators for oral history projects. This issue can be examined from several perspectives. First, they may not have a complete and accurate understanding of historical events and their perceptions are more influenced by what they have heard and limited personal experiences. Second, the dominance of emotions and feelings can affect the way events are narrated and retold. Third, children and adolescents have not yet reached a sufficient level of maturity and experience to present a coherent and analytical narrative. Therefore, in oral history projects, paying attention to the narratives of elders, direct witnesses, and informed individuals can help to record memories and events more accurately and authentically.

Abolfat’h Mo’men

Oral history narrators can be all members of society of different ages who have been involved in or witnessed a historical event. Oral history, according to the topic, selects the target community and interviews the narrators to collect historical, social, political, and cultural data or to convey lived and managerial experiences. Therefore, children and adolescents, due to their sincerity, honesty, and detail in recounting events and their distance from political considerations, can be suitable narrators in the field of study. However, the interviewer must be familiar with their characteristics, literature, and age conditions, and also consider the emotions and feelings of this group when interviewing.

Hassan Beheshtipour

Since children and adolescents have not reached the age of 18, they are not suitable narrators for oral history, but their role becomes necessary in three positions: interviewer and co-researcher, narrator of their lived experience in the “present tense,” and in situations where they witness an event. In this case, their narrative is “data,” not an indisputable “truth,” and must be verified with documents, photographs, and the narratives of others. Since honesty is not the same as accuracy, a child may say something that did not happen. Therefore, children's oral history is tied to ethics, psychology, and children's rights and requires project design, non-inductive questions, and support.

Mohammad Mehdi Abdollahzadeh

Psychologists have conducted studies and presented findings on human personality traits at different stages of life, including childhood and adolescence. Given that the goal of oral history is to record and preserve human experiences, memories, perceptions, and narratives of past events and transform them into a source for historical knowledge and research, children and adolescents can be subjects for oral history research and, depending on the topic, goals, age, and experiences, oral history interviews with them are necessary. However, in interviews with them, it is necessary to pay attention to personality traits and observe principles such as parental consent and the proximity of the time of the experiences.

Seyyed Mohammad Sadeq Feyz

Oral history is not official history. The accuracy of the interview should be assessed with the citations that should be included. Children's narration of events and incidents covers and completes the facts and, like other interviews, requires verification with other documents and statements. However, the important and significant point is to pay attention to the delicate souls of children and adolescents, and they should not be put under mental and nervous pressure to express their memories so that they reveal unpleasant things or secrets that cannot be told; because it will affect their souls and minds and this will bother them for a long time and perhaps forever.

Abolfazl Hassanabadi

Involving children and adolescents in oral history has been discussed in two main areas: its use as an educational tool and strengthening the position of students as narrators and producers of history. The use of oral history in schools dates back to 1966, when students in the Foxfire project went to the elderly and old people of the local community and interviewed them about various topics such as traditions, skills, family, neighborhood, war, migration and natural disasters. In this area, oral history is used as a method of learning history and local research, especially in secondary school, and children and adolescents usually appear in the role of interviewers and producers of oral history.

Hamid Qazvini

Children and adolescents are not suitable narrators for oral history projects and should not be pressured in this regard. First, their presence in political and social issues is not of their own volition and they are not direct actors. Second, their perspective and narrative are mixed with emotions and feelings that are constantly changing. Third, children's knowledge is incomplete and far from reality; for example, when they describe the dimensions of a place and then go to the same place after years, they see that their mental image is very different from reality. Therefore, their narrative cannot be relied on. At the same time, if memories are recorded from them, they must be compared with other sources and narratives.

Artificial Intelligence

Children and adolescents are suitable narrators for oral history, provided that the goal is to record their own experiences, not to narrate the history of adults. They can narrate daily life, school, play, war, migration and social changes through the lens of their generation. These narratives enrich social history. But there are limitations: shorter-term memory, influence from adults, bias and ethical issues. Therefore, it must be done with informed consent, simple questions and a safe space. (DeepSeek)

Yes, children and adolescents can be good storytellers for oral history projects, especially when the research topic is related to their lived experience, family, school or social environment. Their narratives can reveal details that are less visible in adult narratives; from everyday feelings and perceptions to the way the new generation deals with social change. However, the age, level of understanding, memory, ability to express and the mental state of the narrator must be taken into account. It is also essential to observe ethical principles, obtain informed consent from parents and the child themselves, maintain privacy and avoid hurtful questions. Therefore, children are not just the subjects of research, but can be independent and valuable storytellers. (ChatGPT)

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