Understanding Oral History and its Significance in Studying the Past

This article explores the concept of oral history and its significance in studying the past. It discusses the transmission of cultural and textual information through oral tradition and the understanding of people's experiences and adversities. The article also delves into the impact of Jim Crow Laws and racial segregation in America, as well as the role of historical revisionism in interpreting historical experiences. It concludes by highlighting the suitability of qualitative and interpretivist data analysis methods for studying oral history.

Oral History

Oral history is the form of information that orally travels from generation to generation and
informs about the past and earlier generation. Oral tradition is therefore, the process of
recalling and transmission of the specific and preserved, cultural and textual information.
Oral history also helps in understanding the experience of the people and the adversaries that
they might have faced (Gluck & Patai, 2016). Understanding the implementation of Jim
Crow’s laws and the local and state level racial segregation that it applied. Studies have
informed that Jim Crow Laws had resulted in creating a unhuman and painful divided
between the white and black people in America, and the effect of such division can still be
felt and experienced in the American society.
Understanding this painful history from the perspective and experience of a black slave have
been an amazing experience. This interview helped in understanding that how the racial
divide had affected the whole human race, who were discriminated on the basis of their
colour. The oral history that was learned from the perspective of a slave had explained that
the pain that is felt and the suffering that had occurred are few things that could never be
understood through academic readings. The oral history that stood out of all and made a
significant impression was the history of Jim Crow’s Laws that were developed during the
period of reconstruction after American Civil War. The racial segregation has been the black
spot in the American history that have been influencing the perception of the people as well
as their behaviour and thinking till now (Krieger, 2016).
The individual that have been selected for the purpose of this work was a former Black slave,
who had gained freedom from slavery after the war, but had to face the wider social problem
of racism, discrimination and stereotyping (Abrams, 2016). He had face significant
difficulties in managing an appropriate life for himself and his family. His experience under
the Jim Crow’s laws have been very cruel and dehumanising. For the black people such a
hostile environment had resulted in generating the feeling of insecurity and also had lost hope
from democracy. The interview with a person, who had experienced these things had
deepened my understanding regarding the trauma and pain that Black people had experienced
(Abrams, 2016).
The historical revisionism is an important approach that help in re-interpreting the moral and
ethical meninges from the historical record or context. The role of revisionist is to interpret
the historical experiences of the people and to provide them with better explanation in order
to enhance or develop knowledge regarding past. The methodological approaches that are

required for analysing the oral history are required to have the instrument and approaches that
could help in developing subjective judgement. The assessment of the data should be based
on understanding the practical experience of the individuals. Qualitative and interpretivist
data analysis can be considered as the most appropriate methodological approach in
understanding the lived experience of people. Therefore, the oral history methods are
appropriate for such projects and for including the data that could be measurable.

References
Abrams, L. (2016). Oral history theory. Routledge.
Gluck, S. B., & Patai, D. (2016). Women's words: The feminist practice of oral history.
Routledge.
Krieger, N. (2016). Living and dying at the crossroads: racism, embodiment, and why theory
is essential for a public health of consequence. American journal of public
health, 106(5), 832.