The Available Past as Oral History
The availability of primary sources and other historical documents hinders our ability to reconstruct the past. Written and printed documents from the past set the limits on our understanding of history. Michael Schudson refers to these materials when he talks about “the available past.” Often, the available past –extant personal papers, diaries, newspaper articles –reflect only the experiences of dominant social groups in society.
Oral history interviews record the memories of eye-witness participants to the events of the past. Today oral history is used to diversifythe sources of traditional scholarship, and to partially compensate for the absence of written documents. At its best oral history can open new lines of inquiry, and give voice to history’s forgotten experiences.
These very interviews are “a product of historical consciousness, or the way people understand and articulate their pasts.” As such, the memories reflected in oral history interviews are not always precise. Yet this is perhaps their greatest strength: “errors, inventions, and myths lead us through and beyond facts to their meanings.”