LIFE NARRATIVES:
THE ENCOUNTER, THE EXPERIENCE
The recording of the events of another person's life is a privilege and an opportunity. Whether chronicled on the page, on the screen or audio tape or in one's memory, recorded life narratives provide a medium through which many can learn.
The dictating of one's life story is far more than merely storytelling or the transfer of biographical information from one person to another. It is through the exposing of the whats, hows and whys of the individual that a door to understanding an individual in the context of the many facets of his world is opened. So, too, are we given the chance to interpret the individual's status and role in their respective contexts and, in turn, gain insight into larger institutions of which the individual is a part.
Through the discussion of my own experience as a novice life history interviewer, it is my objective to shed light on the process of recording another's self narrative. In hopes to possibly encourage the efforts of other novices, I present general guidelines for conducting life history interviews as well as address various implications of the life narratives.
Links to other ORAL HISTORY sites:
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/lessons/oralhist/ohguide.html
http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/books/oral.htm
http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/ROHO/1minute.html
http://www.indiana.edu/~ohrc/pamph1.htm
Thank you!
by Megan O'Connell
Hollins University