ライフヒストリーにおけるオーラル・ヒストリー(<特集2>今日のオーラル・ヒストリー研究)

抄録

Oral history approaches have been developed within historical studies, and the methods can be categorized into three types: for the first type of oral history, oral evidence is used for reconstructing historical facts; the second type of oral history analyses subjective voices or subjective views in making history; and the final type of oral history, that is oral life history, is doing research on or interviewing a life story teller. This paper explores the meaning of the third type of oral history, oral life history, which has been developed as life history studies in Japan. Firstly, the definition of life-history and the methodology of oral history are discussed. For this purpose, the paper illustrates "the configuration of life-history" and explains derivative concepts, for example "social history," "life story," "biography" and "ethnography". Secondly, the author discusses details of research or interview techniques and the relationships between the interviewer and the interviewee, expounding on the meaning of "dialogue," and the bias or contradiction in the research process. Finally, I bring up ethical problems in oral life-history approaches.