Oral History Essay

In recreating the historical aspect of life and experiences, one particular area has already flourished and created a definite voice and way to elucidate what other things that were missed by the historians. Oral history became popularized through its ability to generate a powerful narration of a personal account of what other historical artifacts may be found. It seems that oral history has paved the way of giving out the accounts of our forefathers as a way of a hand-me-down run-down of the past. Although normally most people have certain qualms or reservations regarding this arena, it still could not be helped when most cultures generate their own historical marks through this process. This might be due to this particular regeneration and recreation that people are skeptical about. The verification of these orally transmitted histories would take a lifetime to discover or it might take a rigorous process. In a way, it would not be helped then that oral histories are taken with much doubt. These doubts then could be alleviated by means of meticulous and precise research and background study. It might not eradicate all the skeptics but it could give justice and justification in regarding oral histories as merely hearsays. True enough that oral histories would come to be formulated though word of mouth but giving a certain backdrop could, at the least, make it acceptable. Oral history then provides us with an alternative into viewing history as a whole. There could be two general reservations for oral history. The first is its inclination towards a more personalized view of historical aspects. Lastly, the discussion on oral history’s inclination towards the artistic implications would be tackled in giving a light to the personalized input of the subject matter, oral history. It is the aim then of this paper to view oral history as a part of a broader argument for it being a form of art of which art as another contributor to history. Suffice to say, oral history would then be investigated as a form of an art work through its personalized and artistic quality. In connection to this then, an argument for art being a contributor to history would be played to reveal that oral history too could be a source of history, albeit a particular view but a source nonetheless. This ambitious event would take place then through arguing that narratives from oral history could recreate a more artistic ideal and with this generates a whole new perspective regarding the personalized approach to oral history. It would not be scraped then that oral history has a hint of a more personalized quality. It would seem that life stories are generally tainted with the perspective of the speaker and at the same time the views are â€Å"reportable† in nature (Linde 20-21). In the advent of this occurrence, it could be seen then that autobiographies and/or biographies are personalized in nature through the prospect that it is in the perspective of the speaker. It was generally known that autobiographies and the like are written in this approach. To come to terms with this aspect then is to be able to recognize that some of these biographies are taken orally through interviews and just as final output it was written to be published. What is essential though is that this form of story is just apart of the whole perspective of culture, event, etc. The person or the self then greatly contributes to the whole (Linde 50). Given that these personal accounts could contribute to the whole, it would not then be amiss to claim that there are certain indications where the personal quality of oral history, in this case autobiography and/or biography, is useful for the historical aspect of a tribe, or a country. These accounts then could be verified through the more holistic and objective aspect of history. The danger that is presented in this aspect is that it could become a mere novel where fictional attribution is heavily distinguished in the work. A good resolution for this danger is to be able to have a certain framework that would surely not deviate from the purpose of the literary work. The realization and the recognition of the aim then are through seeing that the work as needed to generate a particular view of the general historical event. It is in this view that narratives could work through framing, where it becomes a â€Å"sharing of memory within a culture (Bruner 56). † What could be inferred here is that although the works are personal in nature, it should be case that these accounts are used in accordance to what constitutes the factual events of the time. In a way, these aspects then could be seen in the light of certain historical and cultural hints in the work. It was said that â€Å"schematic† basis should be generated through the institutional and historical aspect where the experience of the speaker came from (Bruner 57). The best recourse then is to be able to identify a written output as a plain autobiography and/or biography with a certain aim and balanced fictional input, just enough to heighten the affective quality that it would have on the reader. It could also be seen that this personalized contribution could be seen in a collective manner. This is, again, with the implication that these works were â€Å"canonical interpretation† of an event. In this aspect, it could then be viewed that a collective memory of a group could become an ideology set for reporting an event or even a particular conception in relation to societal factors (Billig 60-61). It was said then that this memory could be a process in reconstructing the past through a certain discourse (Billig 62). In a way, a retelling of the past then occurs through a conversational way and at the same time it could commemorate what had happened. It was said that oral history could take the form of a narrative concerning a person’s perspective regarding his/her culture. One way of looking at this is the way it could generate an autobiographical and/or biographical sketch of a person’s life. In a way, it would seem then that an interview or of same sort could recreate a different milieu of the more generalized objective report of historical accounts. What is meant by this is that some people tend to portray their culture through a more literary perspective. The stories that could be compiled then from word of mouth from ancestors could become a way in recreating historical accounts at the same time it gives out an artistic quality to it. Folk tales are recognized as traditional input of legends that could become a way in extracting a more cultural approach in history. This tradition not only secures the cultural aspect in it but also secures that the belief system of a group and be passed down from generation to generation. As was mentioned earlier, a popular approach to oral history is through the usage of the autobiography and/or biography. It is in this case that life stories could be used in producing a historical account. Although this form may be written when published but the part where it was oral is the fact that these written forms could come from the interviews that was done to compile such work as was mentioned earlier. It is the case then that a certain goal or aim should be realized and reached when giving out the interview. It would be the goal where a more detailed aspect of, for example, a war or a detailed aspect of what was happening at a certain event. Only that these detailed reports would come from a certain perspective or angle rather than a more holistic approach the way the usual writing of history is done. In the light of this occurrence, it could then be said that the narrative has a tinge of a dramatic approach to the cultural basis of which the story could introduce. This dramatic attempt then makes it hard for the people to actually count these autobiographical and/or biographical sketches as an authentic output of historical events. But what is fascinating about these narratives is that it suggests a certain value of combining the seemingly obvious to the obscure (Bruner 47). This could happen through generating a more personalized way of construing the historical account. What could be said about narratives is that it could be real or imaginary without ever taking the power that it could create for the readers (Bruner 44). In this case then, life stories could provide a tableau for both events without succumbing to a more fabled or fictional function of narratives and/or stories. The problem of folktales is that it has a more fabled approach to it that generally it could not reassure the readers of the authenticity that they are inclined with. In the autobiographical and/or biographical approach, it has a minimal problem with regards to authenticity that it would not create a major problem among readers. The literary input then could be balanced by the factual input of the biographer that this authenticity problem would not be a major concern. What could be the major concern is that whether or not the synchronicity of factual to a more literary approach is well balanced so as to not make the work look more literary than necessary. Given this attribute then, it would seem that the life stories could generate a backdrop for the wider and objective view on history. A good example is the book is the autobiography of Delfino Cuero. The book contains a concise historical documentation of the tribe of which Delfino Cuero belongs and a historical chronology of what was happening during a certain time span as well as the cultural history of Delfino Cuero (Shipek 7-18). It could then be presumed that a right combination of the narrative and the factual input could create certain oral historical outputs that are both informative and recreational. The mundane and the objective then combined could produce a historical deviation from the usual report style documentation of events. The artistic implication set then is the fact that biographies and/or autobiographies could be deemed as literature. It was generally seen that literature is a form of artwork. It generally gives a certain hint of the cultural background of a certain place, people, or country. It could be seen that literature has become one of the paths on providing certain backgrounds on the cultural aspect as well as the events of a given place. It is a leeway of which historical events are colored to produce the necessary outcome. In lieu of what was mentioned above it could be seen then that these works formed as a literature could be seen as an artwork of some sort. In this aspect, a view on art as one of the contributors of history could be seen. It would seem that art and artworks could generally create the necessary background of the cultural aspect of history as well as certain accounts of the historical aspect of a place or country. Take for example sculptures, there chronological and sequential updates could view a certain aspect of the progress of civilizations. Another area of which these form of artwork tackle is the direct or indirect influence of other countries or civilizations in the country. It could then be a way to produce certain evidences needed for accounting the historical events of a place. In autobiographies and/or biographies, it could be seen that the accounts made by the speaker or author could generally pinpoint a certain area of the countries’ progress. As was repetitively implied earlier, the particular perspective would then come from a general view of the historical event. It could then be deduced that oral historical forms could come through interviewing and would generate an autobiographical and/or biographical production that is generally written in format. This production then could be personalized in nature but given a much canonical interpretation, it could produce a credible and authentic output for a particular view in history. What could be essential is that these memories should become a recollection of the past at the same time it could commemorate the episodes in the past. It could then be further deduced that the artistic implication of these works are more intended through the mixture of the literary inputs that could be used. A balanced work would then mean that fictions are not at the majority but they are used for the aesthetic purpose of the said productions. In this light, it could then be said that the written output could be seen as a literature where it was known to be a form of artwork. It would then be discovered that the contributions that artworks have in history is a way in handing out evidences of the cultural and general accounting of the events that was happening before. The contribution then of oral history could also be recognized by the fact that it could not be limited to folktales but that it could generate a more particular view of the events that happened in history aside from one of its aspect as a form of artwork.