On the eve of the twentieth anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks, Rebecca Brenner Graham reminds us how oral history can validate and preserve individual traumas from such a harrowing time. By Rebecca Brenner Graham The September 11, 2001 attacks occurred twenty years ago. Five years ago, I conducted a series of oral history […]
Inspired by a session at the recent Oral History Association annual meeting, which occurred virtually in October, oral historian Troy Reeves reflects on a particular peril of the profession: interviews can be emotional and traumatic, and interviewers may not be as versed in self-care as we are in asking good questions. Troy invites us to […]
OHR solicited essays on the implications of interviewing during and about COVID-19. We are excited to publish these online today, and in print in the upcoming issue. By Janneken Smucker, Abigail Perkiss, and David Caruso Back in April, which simultaneously feels like two days ago and two years ago, the OHR editorial team contemplated how […]
Prince Vlad, a pseudonym the author of this post uses to protect his identity, shares an account of how he interviewed an El Salvadorian gang member after earning his trust, only to learn soon after that his informant had been murdered. By Prince Vlad In the first two months of this year, 234 people were […]
Oral history projects do not have static after lives, as this travel journal from Gwyn McClelland demonstrates. He reflects on his recent visit to Japan, where he returned to share the results of his research on the trauma resulting from the atomic bombing in Nagasaki. Meditating on his role as an outsider, he shares what […]
Oral History Review has a particular interest in the various methods oral history practitioners use to analyze interviews. We are delighted to preview Dieter Reinisch’s work exploring the emotions revealed in interviews with former Irish Republican Army prisoners, drawn from his larger project, An Oral History of Irish Republican Prisoners, 1971-2000. By Dieter Reinisch Particularly since […]
In her recent OHR article, “Unexpected Trauma in Oral Interviewing,” Emma Vickers argues that oral historians can draw on psychoanalytic theories to better equip for unexpected trauma in interviews. Here, she answers a few of our questions about ways to navigate trauma when interviewing. Can you explain what you mean by “unexpected trauma” in the […]
The authors of the recently published article “Oral History, Moral Injury, and Vietnam Veterans,” available online, share their thoughts on and experiences with “moral injury.” By Philip F. Napoli, with contributions from Thomas Brinson, Neil Kenny, and Joan Furey. As part of the research for my book, Bringing It All Back Home: An Oral History […]
Founder of Witness to Guantánamo, Peter Jan Honigsberg shares in this guest post, the origins and significance of this project that documents the experiences of those who have worked, lived, or were detained in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. By Peter Jan Honigsberg Witness to Guantánamo’s mission is to document on film the stories of people who have lived […]
View Post on the OUPblog Last week, Erin Jessee gave us a list of critical questions to ask to mitigate risk in oral history fieldwork. Today, we’ve invited Jessee back to the blog to talk more in-depth about her recently published article, “Managing Danger in Oral Historical Fieldwork,” spotting signs of trauma during interviews, and dealing with the sensitive […]
