OHR Conversations: Na Li on “History, Memory, and Identity: Oral History in China.” 

In our latest installment of OHR Conversations, our recorded conversations with oral history practitioners and scholars, Na Li and OHR co-editor Janneken Smucker discuss her recent OHR article, “History, Memory, and Identity: Oral History in China,” examining the popular and public role of oral history in shaping Chinese consciousness.

OHR Conversations, between Na Li and OHR co-editor Janneken Smucker, recorded May 25, 2020.

Listen to audio only. 

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Na Li is a Research Fellow/Professor at Department of History, Zhejiang University. She is Editor for Public History: A National Journal of Public History (《公众史学》), and International Consulting Editor for The Public Historian. She serves on the Board of Directors for the National Council on Public History. Her research focuses on public history and urban preservation. Her first book, Kensington Market: Collective Memory, Public History, and Toronto’s Urban Landscape (University of Toronto Press, 2015) investigates ethnic minority entrepreneurs in one of the most diverse neighborhoods, Kensington Market in Toronto, incorporates collective memory in urban landscape interpretation, and suggests a Culturally Sensitive Narrative Approach (CSNA) to urban preservation. Her second book, Public History: A Critical Introduction (《公众史学研究入门》), surveys key issues in public history (Peking University Press, 2019). Her articles appeared in The Oxford Handbook of Urban Planning, History Workshop Journal, Journal of Family History, The Public Historian, Oral History Review, Public History Review, Public History Weekly, and a number of premier Chinese journals. She is working on a new book, Seeing History: Public History in China.

Featured image courtesy Flickr user Gauthier DELECROIX – 郭天, used with permission via C.C. BY 2.0 license.