Articles

'I Was Arrested at Greenham in 1962': Investigating the Oral Narratives of Women in the Anti-Nuclear Committee of 100

The Committee of 100 (1961-68) was an anti-hierarchical group campaigning for British unilateral nuclear disarmament, using non-violent direct action. This article examines the oral narratives of six women involved in the campaign. It brings to light examples of women's activism at this time when there was a strong ideological bias towards them remaining in the domestic sphere, and explores the gendered experiences within the group. The narratives reveal the individuality and originality of the Committee of 100, especially in comparison to their contemporary radical political groups and also the precursory effects of the group on the structure, ethos and method of later campaigns such as Women's Liberation and Greenham Common Peace Camp.
Author(s): Sam Carroll
Keywords: Committee of 100; Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament; Women's Liberation; Greenham Common

Let the Data Sing: Representing Discourse in Poetic Form

This article explores the use of poetic form for the transcription of an oral history interview. It looks at the poetic form's effect on analysis, the method of poetic transcription, writing as an analytical process, the suit- ability of poetry to representing discourse and the effects and implications of using a literary form. As an analytical method, shaping a poem aids close textual analysis and offers a form that recognises issues of authorship, history telling and literariness.
Author(s): Krista Woodley
Keywords: transcription; poetry; analysis; authorship

Musical Memories of the Greek Catastrophe and Local Bards as Emblems of Belonging: The Case of Maria Kouskoussaina

Maria Kouskoussaina was renowned as a song performer in Aghios Dimitrios, a rural Greek village established by refugees from Asia Minor after the Catastrophe of 1922 in Lemnos, a North Aegean island. I focused on her central role in the construction of the social identity of the village. I explored song as a narrative form through which members of this group were building a distinctive sense of belonging. While many inhabitants of this community used to perform songs, Kouskoussaina was locally recognised as particularly gifted. Her poetry gave voice to complex community memories of the Ottoman Empire. Through her poetry, multiple pre-national recollections associated with the recent past in the Ottoman Empire were revealed. My investigation used participant observation and oral history techniques.
Author(s): Georgios Tsimouris
Keywords: orality; poetry; memory; refugees

What More's to Be Said? Understanding Legislative Bodies through Oral History

Legislative bodies produce abundant official documentation, raising the question of whether oral history can add much to their study. This paper outlines the United States Senate's oral history programme, which aims to interview a cross-section of individuals who can offer alternative views to the official record, glimpses into otherwise opaque procedures, and analysis of motivations and results. The project includes life review inter- views and more focused 'debriefings', and records social as well as political changes in the legislative body. The institutional knowledge that it generates informs both public historians within and outside researchers to better understand legislative operations and internal culture.
Author(s): Donald A. Ritchie
Keywords: United States Senate; legislatures; life reviews; debriefings; public historians

Mixing Money and Memories: Running an Oral History Business

This article outlines the establishment of a business to record life stories of individuals to keep within family archives. It explains where the idea came from and describes the processes and practicalities. It outlines the benefits of the recording experience and end product to interviewees and their families, with ownership being of prime importance.
Author(s): Lorna Baker
Keywords: life stories; a personal service; ownership

Public History

Displaying the Twentieth Century in Polish Museums

Poland has traversed extraordinary transitions over the last two decades and to varying degrees its museums have responded, from reinterpreting subject matters previously under-represented to completely reinventing themselves. This article looks at how some museums have approached their role in restoring to the public record aspects of the twentieth century past that were previously neglected in official histories. It considers the relationship between individual memory, including in oral history, and the histories presented in museums, both in terms of how museums are representing individuals and personal experiences in their galleries and how the memories of visitors can shape their responses to public interpretations of the recent past. It is based on observations arising during a Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship.
Author(s): Annette Day
Keywords: museums; memory; twentieth century history; Poland

Reviews

The Japanese Community in Pre-War Britain: From Integration to Disintegration

Reflections: Life Portraits of Exmoor

Luton Life: The Story of Luton Past and Present