Volume 33, No 2 (2005) Abstracts
‘MUSCLE MEMORY’: PERFORMING ORAL HISTORY by Jeff Friedman
Keywords: dance; oral history; choreography; memory
Abstract: Performance as a outcome of oral history production is now acknowledged as a legitimate application and method of dissemination. However, performance is also a research practice allowing oral historians to further interrogate their areas of interest through an exploration of embodied interpretation of memory construction. Muscle Memory is an original solo dance/text work using life histories of dancers as primary research materials. The essay includes excerpts from sample oral histories that not only represent historical figures and actions but also address the meaning of the oral history event by embodying theories of dialogics, memory construction, inter- and intrasubjectivity.
ORAL HISTORY ACROSS GENERATIONS: AGE, GENERATIONAL IDENTITY AND ORAL TESTIMONY by Sally Chandler
Keywords: oral history; methodology; age; generation; cultural scripts
Abstract: Oral historians are well aware that subjectivity – both our subjects' and our own – shapes the content and interpretation of our work. At the same time, and though oral history often encompasses intergenerational talk, oral historians have yet to develop in-depth theory and method to account for variations in subjective identity arising from differences in age and generational cohort. This essay surveys findings from life-course development research which characterize the (often unconscious) divergences of interpretation and understanding arising within intergenerational communication. Close analyses of oral histories created by college students and elder subjects suggest patterns through which age-related differences reported by life-course development research can drive the focus and content of interviews, and influence interpretation of collected materials.
LIVING IN THE LIE: THE ARMENIAN INTELLIGENTSIA IN THE SOVIET UNION by John W Mason
Keywords: intelligentsia; ideology; communism; propaganda; Armenia
Abstract: This article explores the thought-world of the Armenian intelligentsia living in the Soviet Union from 1920 to 1991 and asks how they perceived their existence in a closed, ideologically-charged society which demanded unquestioning conformity to its goals and values. Using Vaclav Havel's essay, ‘The Power of the Powerless', written in 1978, as a reference point, the article examines the basic question: how can a person be both a victim and a supporter of the communist system? Based on life story interviews with four Armenian professionals, born between 1919 and 1930, the article looks at the myths that sustained their lives and how the Soviet system gained legitimacy from its greatest potential critics, the intelligentsia.
FLOUTING THE LAW: WOMEN AND THE HAZARDS OF CLEANING MOVING MACHINERY IN THE COTTON INDUSTRY, 1930-1970 by Michele Abendstern, Christine Hallett and Lesley Wade
Keywords: occupational health; women; cotton; accidents
Abstract: In 1937 the cleaning of moving machinery by women and children in factories was banned. Despite this the following years saw its continued widespread practice in the cotton industry. We suggest that this was due to the lack of paid time allowed for cleaning, alongside the piecework system, the combination of which resulted in a stark choice for workers between time and money. The culture of risk taking is discussed. The article uses the voices of women mill workers as well as documented source material to illustrate the nature of women's work and the views and concerns of government, of trade union officials and of workers both at the time and, for the latter, in retrospect.
‘THE WAY WE SPEAK': WEB-BASED REPRESENTATIONS OF CHANGING COMMUNITIES IN ENGLAND by Rob Perks and Jonnie Robinson
Keywords: World Wide Web; Survey of English Dialects; Millennium Memory Bank; accents and dialects; new technology; community history; ethics
Abstract: The Way We Speak brings together hundreds of recorded testimonies from two audio collections recorded fifty years apart – the Survey of English Dialects and the Millennium Memory Bank – for extensive public access via the World Wide Web. This article relates the technical and ethical challenges involved in this innovative means of reaching a wider public, and explores the way in which oral history might be reconnected with its essential oracy through new technology.
REMINISCENCE AND WAR TRAUMA: RECALLING THE JAPANESE OCCUPATION OF SINGAPORE , 1942-1945 by Kevin Blackburn
Keywords: reminiscence work; war; education; Singapore
Abstract: The process of reminiscence, the act of recalling one's life story, entails a self-discovery of who one is. Understanding one's past and making sense of it is important for an individual's identity. However, remembering traumatic events or periods of many years ago can interrupt and challenge this process of having reminiscence affirm identity. The Japanese Occupation of Singapore was a traumatic period in the lives of people now over seventy years old. This study traces how individuals interviewed on the Japanese Occupation in Singapore integrated what they experienced and witnessed during the Japanese Occupation into their overall life story. The study derived from an oral history course for trainee teachers who would be using oral history in schools. It seeks to integrate lessons from oral history and reminiscence work.
WALKING THE TIGHTROPE: RAISING FUNDS FOR COMMUNITY PROJECTS by Frazer Swift
Keywords: community; museum; fundraising
Abstract: Raising funds for community projects can be a balancing act – on one hand the demands of the funder – on the other the needs of the participating groups. Each project is unique, and each potential funder is looking for different things. However, chances can be improved by stressing commitment to true partnership working and ensuring that the budget and scheduling are flexible enough to cope with unexpected change. Above all it is important to be honest about the challenges presented by the project and realistic about the targets set – the funder will want the project to succeed just as much as those seeking funding.