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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Oral history and ageing | | Author(s) | Joanna Bornat, Josie Tetley |
| Corporate Author | Centre for Policy on Ageing - CPA; Centre for Ageing and Biographical Studies (CABS), Open University |
| Publisher | Centre for Policy on Ageing - CPA, London, 2010 |
| Pages | 79 pp (The representation of older people in ageing research series, no 9) |
| Source | Central Books, 50 Freshwater Road, Chadwell Heath, Dagenham, RM8 1RX. |
| Keywords | Memory and Reminiscence ; Historical studies ; Methodology ; Conference proceedings. |
| Annotation | Oral history and gerontology have had a rarely spoken relationship over the years. Yet for the oral historian, older people are the key to the past. 'Oral history and ageing' comprises papers presented at a seminar at the Centre for Policy on Ageing (CPA) in October 2006, organised with the Open University's Centre for Ageing and Biographical Studies (CABS). The contributors, all leading UK oral historians, illustrate four very different approaches within an oral history tradition, each with relevance for gerontologists. Paul Thompson, in 'Transnational families: ageing and realising dreams of home', explores older people's experiences of migration from Jamaica to North America and the UK, and the family and community support networks that have helped them to survive. Alistair Thomson's paper, 'Remembering in later life: some lessons from oral history', focuses on the experiences of an Australian World War I veteran aged 96 when interviewed (in 1993) and with a 66 year old woman 'return' migrant from Australia. The last two papers examine the effect of group and social processes on recall and storytelling in oral history work. In 'Sex, lives and videotape: oral history group work and older adult education groups', Graham Smith demonstrates how different methods can promote "transactive" remembering when group members work together to share stories of a particular period of time or event. In 'Experience shared and valued: creative development of personal and community memory', Pam Schweitzer reflects on her work with reminiscence theatre. In their introduction, the editors comment that while these papers demonstrate the positive contribution that oral history can bring to our understanding of the past, traditional historians have often criticised oral historians' methods. The aim is to stimulate further discussion and opportunities to share research approaches and findings among oral historians and gerontologists. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-100408001 B |
| Classmark | DB: HL: 3D: 6M |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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