Dialogues about oral history: limits and possibilities

Abstract

This text deals with the limits and possibilities of Oral History (OH), especially in research carried out in the field of Human and Social Sciences. Thus, our starting point is, a priori, with the understanding that OH is a methodological procedure and, at the same time, a means in which the researcher uses in order to (re) to constitute testimonies, versions and/or interpretations of the actions of historical subjects, as well as to produce historical knowledge. It is worth underlining the place of speech of this text, which was given/given with the experience of the mini-course Dialogues on oral history: limits and possibilities, offered at the II Journey on Gender, Culture and Displacements, in April 2021. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), the event took place remotely via Google Meet. The methodology of the short course sought to privilege dialogues based on the discussion of pre-selected texts (Montenegro, 2003; Delgado, 2003; 2006; Alberti, 2007; 2014; Portelli, 1997; 2005; 2010; 2016), showing the movie Yahweh narrators. It is possible to infer that, although the OH methodology is an attractive methodological tool, it presents its limits, challenges and drawbacks.