April 23
Today
I met with Dr. Manning to discuss my work on the NOLA project. Dr. Manning
asked me what I thought after I confessed that I had in fact listened to many
of the recordings and read through some of the transcripts. It was interesting
as well as fascinating seeing how the interviewers on this project conducted
their work. The questions that were asked as well as how they made the interviewees
feel as comfortable as possible. I feel that an oral history is difficult
because even though it is a firsthand account of what has been happening and
what the volunteers have witnessed I believe the interviewees may still hold
back.
While
the answers may be honest, I still wondered if the interviewer was getting a
completely honest answer or were there parts of the volunteers’ experiences
that they were not yet ready to talk about. I do believe that oral histories
are relevant just as any other form of accepted historical method is and should
be pursued. Regardless of the method, the facts given by one volunteer may be
significantly different than the facts given by another volunteer. I think that
the background of the volunteer is just as important as the work they are doing
because it is in their background and beliefs that you will discover how they
perceive certain situations and process them. What may seem severe treatment by
one volunteer may be perceived by a different volunteer as a mere
inconvenience.
I
did learn a quite a bit this semester about the intricacies of oral histories
and what they entail. The work is hard and its tedious and even though I kind
of did agree with Dr. Manning as far as it being akin to a police
interrogation, I also believe it’s how you ask the questions that may lead you
to the truth. Proceed carefully is what I determined to be one way to handle
oral histories and as Dr. Manning pointed out, there has to be a common thread
among all the interviews that would make for a compelling argument because after
all is said and done it is quite possible that my truth is very different from
everyone else’s.