Oral History Towards Linguistic and Cultural Studies

Abstract

This article discusses the relationship between oral history and linguistic and cultural studies. The author begins by presenting various definitions and approaches to oral history within these fields of knowledge. He focuses on the definitional and methodological proposals put forward by, among others, Jerzy Bartmiński, Linda Watts, Gary Okihiro, Dawid Dunaway, Donald Ritchie, Richard Dorson, Alessandro Portelli, Katja Roller, Natalie Braber, Diane Davies, Anisa Puri, Matthew F. Simmons, and David Carr. He then explores the intersection of various research methods, situating linguistic and cultural studies within an anthropological approach to oral history. He identifies key themes connecting oral history with these disciplines: textuality, narrativity, subjectivity, relationship with memory, and performativity.