Qasemipour:

Oral History Does Not Belong to the Realm of Literature

Over twenty years have passed since the advent and expansion of oral history in Iran, yet "the proper method for documenting oral history interviews" remains a pressing concern for practitioners in this field. In the following interview, we explore the most scientifically sound approach to compiling oral histories. Mohammad Qasemi-Pour answers our questions on this matter.

Behnaz Zarrabizadeh:

Study and Research as Foundations for the Authenticity of Narrators

The book Pari Khane-ye Ma (Our House’s pari), the latest work by Behnaz Zarrabizadeh, was unveiled in May 2024 at the Tehran International Book Fair. This work comprises the memories of nine families of martyrs—Bahadorbeigi, Bayat, Teymouri, Changizi, Hajibabaei, Sarabi, Azizi, Moradi, and Momeni—hailing from ...

Oral History Training Requires Profound Discourse

Dr. Abolfazl Hasanabadi, a scholar in local history and director of the Astan Quds Razavi Manuscripts Center, shared his insights on oral history education in an interview with Iran’s Oral History site. He emphasized that oral history training has always been workshop-based and experiential. While short courses sometimes come with certification, two decades of experience in oral history training suggest that short-...

A review of twenty years of oral history in Iran

Scientific and professional authority; perspective of Iranian Oral History Association

If a person has a personal library in his or her house, one or more oral history books are seen among them. In recent decades, the wave of book lovers has turned towards the field of oral history, and all this rising trend is owed to the activists in this field.

Material Intellectual Property Rights of Oral History Work-7

It is among the narrator's rights to know from the ultimate goal of the interviewer and final confirmation of the text.

The importance of paying a decent fee to a methodical and scientific oral history project

Following our discussion of Material Intellectual Property Rights of oral history works, we have had an interview with “Yadollah Izadi,” one of the narrators of the Sacred Defense era, and a researcher and activist ...

The crime that will never be forgotten

Eyewitnesses narrate the event of 17th of Shahrivar 1357

17th of Shahrivar 1357 (September 8, 1978) recalls a bitter day in the memory of Iran's revolutionary people. On this day, a large number of Iranian people were martyred in Tehran's Shohada (Jaleh) Square by the forces of the Pahlavi regime. According to many experts, the massacre of the people on this day, removed the ambiguity over the attitude of the Pahlavi regime toward the popular protests and showed the people the real motive of the regime.

Material and Intellectual Rights of Oral History Works-1

The publication "Sureh Mehr" focuses on respecting the equal rights of the parties

The genre of oral history has been among the most popular works in Iran in the last two decades, and when a book based on oral history is written and published, it will most likely be on the publishers bestseller list. There have been cases where the author and the publisher, after a book has appeared in the publishing market, have been challenged over the material and intellectual rights of the book.

It was brought up in an interview with Seddiqa Mohammadi

Interview with the foster coach of the 80s and 90s

A Review of the Cultural Activities of Girls High Schools in Zarand city from Kerman in the Sixties

Seddiqa Mohammadi was born on 1963/May/10 in Zarand, Kerman. During the last years of the imperial rule, he participated in demonstrations with his family, and after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, he entered education as a teacher.

Interview with Farah Talebi, Wife of Martyr Mohammad Karimi

The Narrative of Resistance

In March 2022, we were informed that Colonel Hajj Mohammad Karimi, after years of suffering from injuries and diseases due to the imposed war, joined his martyred companions; a man I was waiting for to publish his oral memories. On February 21, 2022, his body was escorted on the shoulders of Nain people and was buried in the hall of martyrs cemetery of Mazraeh Emam Village in his hometown; on this occasion, ...

Interview with Brigadier General Farzollah Shahin-Rad

Ironman

We were supposed to experience a hot summer day at seven oclock in the afternoon. I got to his house in ten minutes to seven, but I knew that working with the militant had special rules. One of them is punctuality. I went up and down the alley several times to meet this Ironman at his house. When I saw him from afar at military conferences, his sense of toughness was evident in demeanor.
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Destiny Had It So

Memoirs of Seyyed Nouraddin Afi
It was early October 1982, just two or three days before the commencement of the operation. A few of the lads, including Karim and Mahmoud Sattari—the two brothers—as well as my own brother Seyyed Sadegh, came over and said, "Come on, let's head towards the water." It was the first days of autumn, and the air was beginning to cool, but I didn’t decline their invitation and set off with them.
Oral History School – 7

The interviewer is the best compiler

According to Oral History Website, Dr. Morteza Rasoulipour in the framework of four online sessions described the topic “Compilation in Oral History” in the second half of the month of Mordad (August 2024). It has been organized by the Iranian History Association. In continuation, a selection of the teaching will be retold:
An Excerpt from the Narratives of Andimeshk Women on Washing Clothes During the Sacred Defense

The Last Day of Summer, 1980

We had livestock. We would move between summer and winter pastures. I was alone in managing everything: tending to the herd and overseeing my children’s education. I purchased a house in the city for the children and hired a shepherd to watch over the animals, bringing them near the Karkheh River. Alongside other herders, we pitched tents.

Memoirs of Commander Mohammad Jafar Asadi about Ayatollah Madani

As I previously mentioned, alongside Mehdi, as a revolutionary young man, there was also a cleric in Nurabad, a Sayyid, whose identity we had to approach with caution, following the group’s security protocols, to ascertain who he truly was. We assigned Hajj Mousa Rezazadeh, a local shopkeeper in Nurabad, who had already cooperated with us, ...