The Oral Historian
This is a space for conversations about oral history hosted by Indira Chowdhury. It is a space where we try to understand what people talk about when we engage them in long conversations that plumb the depths of their experience of the past.
The Oral Historian is a space not only for those engaged in the pursuit of oral history as a field or a discipline; this space is for anyone interested in understanding the past through conversations with an earlier generation. Such conversations might have different contexts – the search for family stories, migration, ideas of home and identity that people live with, or perhaps, tender conversations with loved ones at the end of life.
PV Krishnamoorthy, talks about the making of the AIR call sign in an interview with Indira Chowdhury,
14 May 2012.
Announcements
Presenting 3 learning opportunities for all practising oral historians and history enthusiasts who wish to integrate theoretical understanding and practice of oral history.
Indira’s Blog Posts
- The meaning of freedom
Indira ChowdhuryWe identify 15th August 1947 with the “tryst with destiny” speech that our first Prime… Read more: The meaning of freedom<br><span style='font-size: 0.7em;'>Indira Chowdhury</small> - Seeing the light: An oral history interview about a difficult life
– Indira ChowdhuryIndira Chowdhury reflects on her interview with Shabana Naseem who transforms her life and the life of women in her community. Conversations with Shabana invites generous listening and makes the oral historian reflect on how deeply connected darkness and light are in human experience. - A story with no ending: Meeting Vincent Stone
– Indira Chowdhury, Alessandro PortelliOn pleasant November day in 2017, Sandro and I set out to meet Vincent Stone.… Read more: A story with no ending: Meeting Vincent Stone<br><span style='font-size: 0.7em;'>- Indira Chowdhury, Alessandro Portelli</small>
Guest Blog Posts
- Echoes of Resilience: Meeting Dr. Firoz Ahmad
Fatima NadeemAt 84, Dr. Firoz Ahmad, a retired AMU chemistry professor was remembered in our family for his scientific curiosity, liberal values, and eloquence. His life has been devoted to academics, rooted in a family where education was paramount, and politics or governments rarely disrupted daily rhythms. He represents a stratum of society—educated, middle-class Muslims in northern India—where intellectual curiosity often outpaced partisan divides. - Sunlight in the Elizabeth Roberts Working-Class Oral History Archive: Sue Bradley
– Sue Bradley‘We never tell the story whole because a life isn’t a story; it’s a whole… Read more: Sunlight in the Elizabeth Roberts Working-Class Oral History Archive: Sue Bradley<br><span style='font-size: 0.7em;'>- Sue Bradley</small> - Children, families and memory
– Heather GoodallChildhood and youth are idealised as times for carefree pleasures – with few responsibilities and… Read more: Children, families and memory<br><span style='font-size: 0.7em;'>- Heather Goodall</small>
The Oral Historian is also a space that nurtures learning through the experience of recording oral history whether you are a practising oral historian, a beginner struggling with the interview process, a community member trying to understand questions around past events, or space and identity, or a family member recording the stories of an earlier generation. At the oral historian, we invite you to contemplate and wonder about memory and our experience of the past. In this space we attempt to understand what we learn from such conversations. Do intergenerational conversations work merely towards filling an information gap? Or do they recount what an object, a place or a journey had meant for them and how they think about it in the present. We invite you also to reflect on yourself as a listener – where did the conversation land for you? How did it make you think about the past? What did it change in your thinking about the past and about yourself? And which elements do you think are often left out of what we are officially taught as history and why do you think that happens? We invite you to share your ruminations in our blog.
The monthly newsletter is available to subscribers and invites you to contribute to the blog with a thought-provoking prompt.
The oral historian also offers the opportunity to join the learning circle an online discussion group that meets to discuss specific issues in oral history over weekends or engages for a longer period with key texts and the questions they raise. The learning circle is open to practising oral historians who wish to integrate theoretical understanding and practice.
In its future plans, the oral historian aims to add online talks and a regular podcast that focus on questions related to oral history.
Share & Contribute
Subscribe
This blog has also opened its doors to other oral historians who offer their understanding of their experiences in listening. More recently, my newsletter offers an opportunity to contribute to the blog.