oral histories
Nov 20 2006 22:37
dear all,
i have recently been thinking about a project which i wish to commence.
the idea of it is this; to create and collate the oral histories/ stories of anarchists and social activists from east anglia.
the method will be recorded interviews, based around questions and free speech, whatever people think will represent them the best!
the format will then be audio, or transcription of the audio into text format which can go online and into pamphlet/book stage.
evidently this is far too ambitious to ever complete, but i am prepared for a long haul, and think it will work in stages. at the moment i am based in norwich, but can sometimes travel.
it is quite a flexible project, and not at all rigidly organised yet.
at this stage, i would like people who are interested in preparing thier own oral history to firstly start looking at it and working out what they want to say, and secondly to contact me and let me know. if there is anyone with experience of dong oral histories, i'd also appreciate their advice.
this is sort of anthropologically inspired, but i also think that there are multiple reasons to do the project.
firstly; under capitalism, we are all disposable. we live our lives mostly at high speed, without really having time to reflect, to learn about ourselves or other people, even when we are very close to them. we know very little about how others view/mentally process their own lives. i hope this project will help to change this, for some people, will give people a space to communicate about themselves- or even just to give them time to think about themselves.
secondly; under capitalism social activists often have the costs of resisting and striving to create a new world 'externalised' onto themselves. we take on the stresses, the worry, the threats from the state, maybe the lack of time for ourselves, the costs. this deseves to be recognised; where we dont recognise the work that people put into organising, we are denying the utility of what theyre doing, the time they put into things, and the value it has for ourselves and others. this is destructive on a fundamental level, and a practical level. fundamentally its destructive to have oneself and actions negated. practically, where we neglect ourselves and other activists we risk disillusionment, burnout, depression, and ultimately harming and then losing people who contribute to the struggle. we have to recognise the achievemtns of ourselves and our comrades, recognise what cool things we're trying to do, in such shit circumstances, and recognise the impacts that it has on us. i hope this project will go some way towards that.
thirdly; i hope that compiling peoples experiences and reflections will provide a resource for others- that people will be able to read/listen to these reflections and to see what to do, to take heart from knowing that other people have been working for a similar vision, to note what has worked AND what hasnt - and why; to get inspiration to organise in their communities, and to spark discussion within our groups.
if you are interested in being interviewed for the project, helping with practical elements of the project, advising me on practicalities, or taking it to a different format, then please contact me at solidaire-et-solitaire@hotmail.co.uk or message me on here with your email. i may not be able to reply immediately- busy life. but its an ongoing thing.
of course there are confidentiality issues here, and considering who we are/nt, security issues too, unfortunately. this will be taken into account within the project, anonymity will be basic, and must also be considered when trying to think about what you want to say within your oral history/ story. if anyones got stuff to say about this, again message me.
Jan 7 2007 17:54
#2
I do radio work (features/documentaries) using a minidisc with a decent mic (mp3 dictaphones etc just arent up to standard), for editing I use adobe audition.
Jan 8 2007 09:27
#3
ok thanks- ive got available this nice little digital voice recorder which i think will function adequately for the purpose.
is adobe audition downloadable...?
i was actually planning to have these transcribed and present them as text rather than audio, but theres the possibility of having them online, it depends on who is prepared and able to host it; and also on how i decide to work considering issues of confidentiality and security.
unfortunately im quite ignorant of technology beyond fairly basic stuff, so if anything complicated is going to happen, the tekkies round 'ere are gonna have to show me stuff. i should have known my lack of interest in IT would come back to haunt me!
Jan 8 2007 12:14
#4
Problem with audio stuff online is streaming and size, I think EASF would be inadequate for that but there are a few places I think you can put this stuff on to like podcasting?
Easiest thing to do would proble be to get it all edited, put it on CD, get it online via libcom or amazon or ebay so it can be ordered (which means you can burn new copies as and when you get interest) and get copies into the local library/records office/independent shops. Tug runs a distro too doesn't he?
Jan 8 2007 16:24
#5
Podcasting them as mp3s would probably get more interest than text versions, althuogh ideally you could do both.
Adobe audition is fairly expensive but you can get it off most decent torrent sites like thepiratebay.org
Use a seperate mic if possible an Omnidirectional Dynamic Microphone is perfect for recording for broadcast as it records sound from all directions and they're pretty cheap.
In terms of getting space for it I just upload everything to radio.indymedia.org and link to the file on there. Failing that you could ask Riseup.net for space or audioanarchy.org
(This is the last interview I did, bit of noise at the start as it's backstage at a gig - http://radio.indymedia.org/uploads/propint.mp3)
Jan 9 2007 15:16
#6
????
ok, i sort of understood most of that, lol. i have no clue what podcasting is but im sure saii will explain it to me.
i like the CD idea, saii, although the transcribed text remains my main aim. in the end it will probably depend on what involvement people have in it and who helps out. there will always be the possibility of extending the range of formats used, but its still only in the prep stages, and the main thing is that i have people who are prepared to be interviewed!
once i have done a practice interview, i will stick up a list of potential/guideline questions here and on the easf boards, but i also want people to be thinking about questions they would want to answer.
this can be discussed at the easf. its certain that i wont be conducting interviews before easter. before any go ahead i will want to speak to individuals who are going to be interviewed anyway.
it happens i have a pretty cool mike which supposedly cuts out background noise, Guy 
cheers for the advice !
Jan 10 2007 19:39
#7
ok, to get people starting to think on what they might want to talk about here are some questions. please don't reply to them on this thread!
how did you come to decide that you should try to change things in concert with other people, with your own time and effort?
what propelled you into politics? were there catalytic events?
influences you have had; in your own life experiences or via representation (art, whether visual, audio or literary.)
the local,national and global; how do they interact, how can they interact, how do/can/should we organise across localities?
peoples struggles and history, from your local town or farther afield, which have been impressed upon you.
do you put more emphasis on certain liberations/themes within your politics? ie class, gender, animals, eco, national, peace? if so, how does this affect the way you approach other issues? does one issue take up a majority of your time?
did you come to your current anarchism via authoritarian politics? if so, what changed your perspective?
what forms of socio-political self-organisation have you been involved with in the past? what forms of organisation would you work with again? do you think that different types of organisation can be appropriate for different aims?
(ie unions, small closed group structure, open/public group structure, project/working group, national or local, loose network.)
if you have rejected certain types of organisation, how and why did you make this decision?
give an example of an action,campaign or event which you organised or participated in which didnt go well - why did it not?
give an example of an action,campaign or event which did go well - how and why?
do you think that the local groups in your area have good links and working relationships? has this changed for better or worse over time?
what is the general demographic makeup of the activists in the groups you usually work in? if there are obvious demographic exaggerations, for example nobody over 30 years old, what has been done to address this and what do you think would work?
what do you think works to try to spread the resources a group has, and to avoid certain roles becoming crystallised with certain people?
do the groups you work with use internal skillshares?
do you take on an organisational role within the group, or do you find that you participate in things that are organised by other people usually? is this by preference? why?
are there structures within the group/s you work with that allow everybodys voices to be heard?
at what age did you decide to get involved, and how did it affect your chosen path of education, career, dole etc?
do you think that the groups you work with give sufficient time to reviewing their work, reflecting on mistakes and problems, and working out solutions to internal conflict?
political/activist groups can often haemorrhage members due to stress, conflict, mental health issues, disillusion. what have the groups you have worked with experienced in this way? have there been supports in place for people to go to when they needed help or mediation?
more to follow. happy thinking!!
Jan 10 2007 21:38
#8
Interviews should be more organic, with a basic set of open questions which you then follow up with more specific ones to draw people out on a subject.
Jan 11 2007 12:04
#9
well, thanks for the input. ive been involved in anthropological interviewing before, so i guess thats probably a large part of my influences. and yes, i do hope to make the interviews organic and to follow off from what people want to talk about, as i think ive said that i want people to think about what they want to talk about beforehand too, and whats important to them. what i posted above isnt an interview layout - if you see the top of the post, its just a list of questions which are indicative of what the interview might cover or might start from, to give people an idea of what direction it will go in.
i cant, at this point, tailor the questions to individuals because the range of people i want to talk to is too wide, and i cant predict now what they would like to speak on.
cheers, lxx
ok- i now have a functioning recorder, so please contact me if youre prepared to help out with this project or are prepared to be interviewed.
more information will probably go onto the east anglian social forum website as and when it progresses, see www.easf.org.uk
cheers! lxx