Abstract
Konstandina Bada
University of Ioannina
Reusing and revaluating archive materials of oral history. The example of a corpus of silversmiths’ life stories
The paper examines how much older oral history material is reinterpreted by the same or a different researcher from a different perspective. We will focus on the re-use of eighty interviews of silversmiths from Ioannina, recorded in 1995-6 and dealing with the history of craftsmanship as well as the everyday life and culture of the silversmiths. The return to this material revealed unique areas for study, unexplored areas and meanings that did not get enough attention, for example concerning the impact of the war decade on the lives of the silversmiths, the role of women and gender relations, the role of the family and the development of a local cultural identity. As a result, the establishment of oral history archives in universities or other research organizations constitutes an essential move.
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