that my grandfather talked about his experiences in WWII. I know that he received a purple heart and that his leg was a little bumpy due to the schrapnel that resided there. But that’s it. He died in 1997. He never told my dad, my grandmother, or any of my aunts and uncles. Nobody knows. All we know is that he was a really cranky old guy. *sigh* So for me, oral histories could help me to understand what he went through without actually knowing what he went through. Get it?
Although oral histories might not meet all the criteria of IRBs or research standards, one thing holds true (for me)… from a social or humanistic approach they could uncover the true ‘emotions’ of the people who were actually in the situations. Standards aside, is there a better primary source?
1 response so far ↓
newenglandcheryl // November 25, 2008 at 6:40 pm |
Yeah, I know what you mean…I wish I had asked my grandfather more about his life in the circus before he passed away. Now, all I have is his old mementos and some newspaper articles. No stories or explanations to go with them.
This Friday (Nov. 28), NPR is calling for a National Day of Listening (http://www.npr.org/multimedia/2008/11/ndol/ndol.html), where people take the time to listen to the stories of others.
Maybe it’s time we sit down with our remaining family members and listen to them.