Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Oral history is increasingly acknowledged as a key tool for anyone studying the history of the recent past. This book is the first to provide a comprehensive and systematic overview of oral history theory in an accessible format.

The book is structured around key themes, including the peculiarities of oral history, the study of the self, subjectivity and intersubjectivity, memory, narrative, performance and power. Each chapter provides a clear and user-friendly explanation of the various theoretical approaches, illustrates them with examples from the rich field of published oral history, and makes suggestions for the practicing oral historian. There is also a glossary of key terms and concepts.

Combining the study of theoreticians with the observations of practitioners, and including extensive examples of oral history work from around the world, this book constitutes the first integrated explanation of oral history theory. It will be invaluable to experienced and novice oral historians, professionals, and students who are new to the discipline.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Acknowledgements (p. vii)
• 1 Introduction: Turning practice into theory (p. 1)
• 2 The peculiarities of oral history (p. 18)
• 3 Self (p. 33)
• 4 Subjectivity and intersubjectivity (p. 54)
• 5 Memory (p. 78)
• 6 Narrative (p. 106)
• 7 Performance (p. 130)
• 8 Power and empowerment (p. 153)
• Glossary of terms and concepts (p. 175)
• Notes (p. 178)
• Guide to further reading (p. 202)
• Index (p. 209)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

In 2010, Routledge published the first edition of Abrams's Oral History Theory (CH, Mar'11, 48-4004). The text immediately achieved recognition as an essential source for practitioners of oral history and for scholars mining recorded interviews, a book that went beyond "how to" guidelines to examine theories that underlie approaches to interviewing, listening, and interpreting the resultant narratives. This second edition reproduces the original text, all still relevant, with the addition of a ninth chapter entitled "Trauma and Ethics." Abrams (Univ. of Glasgow, UK) explains that the additional chapter "treats trauma as a sub-field of oral history in its own right, one which has grown exponentially as narrative-based approaches to collective reconciliation and memorialisation and to the therapeutic treatment of individuals have gained widespread assent." It both complements and expands the original text, focusing on "the collection and analysis of histories of extreme human experiences, sometimes termed crisis oral history." Ethics and safety are emphasized. The second edition merits serious consideration for any collection that supports oral history courses or students and scholars using oral history in their research. Summing Up: Essential. Upper-division undergraduates and above. --Brady M. Banta, Arkansas State University

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Lynn Abrams is Professor of Gender History at the University of Glasgow, UK. She has published widely in the field of women's, gender and oral history, including The Making of Modern Woman: Europe 1789-1918 (2002) and Myth and Materiality in a Woman's World: Shetland 1800-2000 (2005).