Abstract
Maria Thanopoulou, Chrysanthi Zachou
National Centre of Social Research / Deree College - American College of Greece
Between Oral History and oral histories: the management of collective memory and the role of the social researcher
The collection of oral testimonies by a social researcher constitutes an intrusion into the life of the community, which possesses its own mechanisms of collective memory’s preservation and reproduction. Since, whatever is collected by the oral historian reflects the project’s research focus, it constitutes only a partial transmission of the group’s collective memory (oral histories) at a given time. Moreover, the transcription to written text raises important issues, such as the consolidation and legitimation of memory or the internal -external definitions of collective identity. Thus, any research on collective memory invites questions such as: How and by whom is collective memory managed? What is the researcher’s role in this process? Reflecting on these issues, our paper focuses on the social meaning of the researcher’s presence in a community, as well as its basis of legitimation.
<< Return to the conference programme