The Questions of Oral History Interview (Part III)
Interviewer Should Use Ethology
Akram Dashtban
Translated by Ruhollah Golmoradi
2018-7-3
The following text was prepared based on the call for questions on oral history in which from perspective of one of those who has produced works by using this method, the question "what are characteristics of oral history interview questions?" has been answered.
Saying that there are so many books on how news interviews have been published and one of main strategies in oral history interview is interviewee's intimacy with memory teller, Hasan Shirdel added, "An interview in oral history which is conducted by interviewer is different from news interview. In an interview of oral history, interviewer should use psychological techniques and know ethology. When he/she goes to a warrior to record his memories, she/he has to study lives of people who had experienced the war, or narrator's friends from whom some books have been published before asking and conducting the interview; or, if she/he does not have access to books, attend in their friendly meetings so that she/he can communicate with interviewee or narrator's living environment and ask applied questions based on it. When interviewer goes to narrator with this background, he/she can persuade narrator to carefully remember memories with challenging questions derived from similar experiences. Interviewer in oral history walks on the edge of the sword, and if he/she makes a mistake, he/she enters story space, and if proceed properly it would be the same oral history.
Pointing out that for oral history in field of activity of this method in our country there is still no original and defined basis for interview, he says, "no fundamental basis have been adjusted and determined in Hozeh Honari as a center that addresses this topic. In our country, one who wants to go to story writing read books of Ebrahim Younesi and Jamal Mirsadeghi and by referring to their books will become familiar with framework of story writing; but in field of oral history, there has not been any book in subject of biography interview, so each person raise a subject as he/she likes and writes a book, and then wrestle with whether introduce the book as memory or oral history.
■
Iranian Oral History Website raises questions about oral history for experts and practitioners of this subject and releases answers for the audience. Responses altogether will have significant results. If you have any questions, please post it in this page in order to read comments of experts and practitioners of oral history about it.
A Strong Interview Is Tied with Research
Interview Is the Heart of Oral History
Number of Visits: 5393
The latest
- Pathology of Oral History Education in Iran
- Third Regiment: Memoirs of an Iraqi Prisoner of War Doctor – 18
- Practical Models for Simulating Texts in Distinguished, Signature Styles, Under the Use of AI Tools in Resistance Literature
- A Recollection by Ali Tahiri of a Military maneuver
- 100 Questions/17
- Third Regiment: Memoirs of an Iraqi Prisoner of War Doctor – 17
- Oral History News of December-January 2026
- Analyzing the Impact of Sacred Defense Memories on the New Generation: Usage in Transmitting Values
Most visited
- Oral History News of December-January 2026
- Analyzing the Impact of Sacred Defense Memories on the New Generation: Usage in Transmitting Values
- The Sha‘baniyya Uprising as Narrated by Ali Tahiri
- 100 Questions/16
- Third Regiment: Memoirs of an Iraqi Prisoner of War Doctor – 17
- 100 Questions/17
- A Recollection by Ali Tahiri of a Military maneuver
- Practical Models for Simulating Texts in Distinguished, Signature Styles, Under the Use of AI Tools in Resistance Literature
100 Questions/13
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 listed at the beginning of their answers, and the text of all 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.Oral History of 40 Years
One of the main hypotheses regarding the reason for the growth and expansion of oral history in the modern era relates to the fact that oral history is the best tool for addressing lesser-known topics of contemporary history. Topics that, particularly because little information is available about them, have received less attention.Omissions in the Editing of Oral History
After the completion of interview sessions, the original recordings are archived, the interviews are transcribed, proofread, and re-listened to. If the material possesses the qualities required for publication in the form of an article or a book, the editing process must begin. In general, understanding a verbatim transcription of an interview is often not straightforward and requires editing so that it may be transformed into a fluent, well-documented text that is easy to comprehend.100 Questions/8
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 listed at the beginning of their answers, and the text of all 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.
