Solomon Franklin
Final Project Essays
Oral History and the Study of Memory
Spring Semester 2007
Dr. Karen Flint
Part I: Issues and Problems of Memory and Oral History
Oral History and the Study of Memory are evolving fields within the realm of
history. Oral Tradition has always been an integral element of culture and is considered
to be a reliable and trustworthy historical source by academic scholars. Jan Vansina
illustrates this point in his book, Oral Tradition: A Study in Historical Methodology.1 In
the section entitled “The Treatment of Oral Tradition in Ethnological Literature”,
Vansina draws attention to the argument of oral tradition as a historical source. This
section points out a key problem in the study of memory and oral history: determining the
historical significance in oral tradition?2 Vansina also discusses the problem with
memory in the methods that oral traditions are transmitted and the distortions that may
occur in the process of relaying testimony. These problems are intertwined within an
issue that all humans face, the failure of memory.3
1
Jan Vansina, Oral Tradition: A Study in Historical Methodology (Chicago: Aldine Publishing Company,
1965), preface xi-1
Jan Vansina is a Belgian historian, anthropologist, and scholar, concentrating most of his research on
Africa. In this book Vansina regards oral tradition as having a “special nature”, especially involved in the
powerful memory preservation of pre-literate people. Within the text, Vansina expresses the view that oral
tradition should merit “a certain amount of credence, within certain limitations”. He acknowledges and
presents the arguments of the foundational scholars and historiography of oral tradition studies, in order to
examine the methods of control involving oral tradition.
2
Vansina, 9
In this section Vansina introduces authorities that have shaped the views about the reliability of oral
traditions. He refers to American anthropologist Lowie who believes that primitive tribes have no sense of
history, nor sense of historical perspective. Vansina quotes Lowie saying, “The point is, not whether they
recollect happenings, but whether they recollect happenings that are historically significant.” This quote
brought to mind two questions: who is responsible for determining the historical significance of oral
traditions and how are these authorities determining that significance. These questions lead to issues of
consistency when deeming oral traditions as credible and reliable historical resources.
3
Vansina, 40-46
In addition to these problems it is important to deal with issue of diversity in
relation to memory. In the book, Narrating Our Pasts, author Elizabeth Tonkin looks to
draw connections between “memory, cognition, and history.”4 She replaces the term
history with the phrase “representations of pastness.”5 She uses this phrase to help
address a key problem in the field of oral history and memory: that across the world,
people seem to remember different aspects of the past.”6 One important issue that Tonkin
attends to is the way that language affects temporality, in relation to time. Furthermore
she addresses the complications that linguistics has in the processes of oral tradition and
the study of memory.7
One essential question that must be asked in this discussion is, what is the final
aim of the oral historian in relation to memory recollection? In efforts to elicit and
capture the memories of a potential interviewee/historical resource, it is important to deal
with the issue of guiding the conversation in such a way to effectively trigger memories.
Often times repeating certain experiences can triggers many memories. It is important to
look at the effectiveness of material objects on memory. Tonkin says that “our sense of
identity is bound up with objects”, and finds that material evidences are great tools in
helping the oral historian reconstruct the past. Using objects to stimulate an interviewee
to recall the past is a great way to deal with issues concerning oral history interviews.8
4
Elizabeth Tonkin, Narrating Our Pasts: The social construction of oral history (New York: Cambridge
University Press, 1992), 1
Elizabeth Tonkin is a social anthropologist, serving as a Professor at The Queen’s University of Belfast. In
her work, Narrating Our Pasts, she strives to guide the reader into an understanding of how the various
elements of our past collectively “shape our individual selves”.
5
Tonkin, 2-3
The main argument that Tonkin makes is that “one cannot detach the oral representation of pastness from
the relationship of the teller and audience in which it was occasioned.”
6
Tonkin, 1
7
Tonkin, 75-82
8
Tonkin, 94-95
One determining factor in issues of oral history and the study of memory is the
affect that imperialism has had on various cultures. Linda Smith addresses some of
problems in her book Decolonizing Methodologies. Throughout the book she focuses on
is the issue of colonialism and its impact on indigenous people. 9 The fact that history is
usually told from the perspective of the colonizer, can affect the memories of some
formerly colonized indigenous people. This issue is a focal point of the text. Smith
addresses the problem, which in turn helps with the process of decolonization and
identifies solutions to help reclaim the history and memories affected cultures.10
Other issues are presented when discussing problems with tracing history and
genealogy. In the Oral History Reader, written by Robert Perks, world-renowned author
Alex Haley discusses some of the issues that he faced when tracing his genealogy to the
Western Coast of Africa. One issue that he found was in the relation of ancestral history
and their use in language to accurately date points in time within the Kinte Clan’s history.
They would date things with physical events and not calendar dates.11 In this case, the
issue of memory is critical in accurately connecting the genealogical strands of how and
when things occurred.
Overall, memory and oral history are sensitive in their very nature. It is necessary
to address the issues and problems that cause these things to evolve as more credible
historical sources. Oral Traditions will continue to thrive in societies around the world,
and it is up to the historian to appropriately use and preserve these sources.
9
Linda T. Smith, Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous People (London: Zed Books Ltd,
1999), 3
Linda Tuhiwai Smith is an Associate Professor in Education and the Director of the International Research
Institute for Maori and Indigenous Education at the University of Auckland. She purposes this book to
provide a “counter-story to Western ideas about the benefits of the pursuit of knowledge, by looking
through the eyes of indigenous perspective.”
10
Smith, 30-31
11
Robert Perks. The Oral History Reader (Routeledge, 1998), 21-22