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Advantages And Disadvantages Of Oral History

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Oral History The two interviews conducted were focused on the children of Italian immigrants who settled in Calumet. From their testimony the advantages and disadvantages of using oral history as a primary sources were evident. The advantages of using oral history is that their accounts are first hand experiences. Another advantage is their responses are unfiltered to the questions asked without having time to formulate an answer. The combination of these advantages allows for the individual to give an authentic response to questions about their experiences, rather than formulate a well thought out written response. Oral history has many advantages, but as a primary source there are a few disadvantages. One of which is an individual recalling a false memory. In some cases when events took plave more than forty years ago, the individual could have trouble remembering the exact details of their experience. Another disadvantage is the recollection being only one persons point of view. Due to the possibility of false memories, and some specific details to one like not ebing recorded, it is difficult to corroborate the events they describe. With limited individuals point of view, it is difficult to create a clear image of the time period. …show more content…

Both James and Katherine recalled the grocery stores coming to their houses and taking orders, then delivering the orders later that week to their homes. Another experience was in regard to food. They both recalled people throughout their neighborhood raising chickens and rabbits to eat, as well as making their own "toma". This information can be validated through further research such as Russell M. Magnaghi's book "Miners Merchants and Midwives Michigan's Upper Peninsula Italians" that confirm this information from the

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What the benefits of using Gruenewald’s memoir is that we get the emotions that she felt during the time and what she thought of the situation she was in. With the memoir we are able to get what a general normal day was for her and everyone in the camp. The downside of using her memoir is that she is trying to remember something that happen decades ago and all the events could be tweaked from her not remembering one hundred percent of what happen. Another downside of using her memoir is she could be bias about what happen for somethings.

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Doris’ mother fed the Kansan family who lived across the street from the Lees. When the family arrived in Minnesota with nothing, and after the father stole a 50-pound bag of flour to feed his family, he could not find a job or afford food because, according to Doris, “the mayor had it out for him.” Beyond disapproving of the Kansans, the mayor of Blackduck disapproved of feeding railroad riders. Nevertheless, Irene Lee fed the railroad riders who came to her home looking for food, asking them to chop wood for her before feeding them on her back porch. Once, she gave a man from Kansas long underwear to stay warm.

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81 Words | 1 Pages

The history of Latinos in Utah is complex, but it is also a history that is neither well represented in mainstream recounting nor well recognized in the mainstream understanding of Utah’s past. Convoluted interactions among Native Americans, Spaniards, French, Mexicans, Anglos, and others shaped the story of Utah. Awareness of the long presence of Hispanics in Utah is essential to understanding the history of the state. This volume is an attempt to piece together that history through photos and oral histories.

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1328 Words | 6 Pages

In “How to Tell a True War Story”, the main theme is how to tell whether a war story is true or made-up. The author explores the conflict within reality and fiction by arguing that true war stories are hard to believe. In O’Brien’s view, he points out that “A thing may happen and be a total lie; another thing may not happen and be truer than the truth. ”(p.80). Moreover, to make his point, the author spins between facts and fiction causing difficulty for the readers to believe if those stories actually happened or

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1476 Words | 6 Pages

Whereas narrative memory is adaptive and social, able to be integrated within a historical framework, the traumatic memory remains fixed, an invasive reminder of suffering that dissolves temporal boundaries. If we are to view selfhood as a narrative of identity, then trauma almost

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703 Words | 3 Pages

One case Susan Hamlin was interviewed, by someone she thought was from the Welfare Office, so the accounts of her life were made to appear milder than what they were for fear of trouble even though she claimed to be 104 years old. After interviewing so many people Lomax realized these were just words on paper flat no emotion, so, Lomax and son started recording interviews with a three-hundred-pound portable recorder. The problem with Oral History is oral history is only as good as the evidence provided. It can be passed down from generation to generation and distorted along the way due to memory loss, plain confusion or difference in perception.

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When we are faced with a traumatic event, we choose to remember only the boring details because we choose not to relive the event every day. This is called happening-truth. As stated by O’Brien: “here is happening-truth. I was once a soldier. There were many bodies, real bodies with real faces, but I was young then

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Introduction As a member of The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, this essay topic was chosen to further explore my family’s background. My great-great grandma, Ora Marguerite McLellan, was born on December 27, 1904, and is listed on the Final Dawes Roll as number 554. She is listed as Choctaw by blood and was added to the Dawes Rolls as a newborn. My father, who is Native American and lives in Oklahoma, does not have much knowledge or insight about our family or the trials they experienced. My great-great grandma’s generation was reluctant to identify as Native American due to the stigmas associated with their culture and thereupon did not pass down the history to any future generations.

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Human beings often claim to be searching for the truth. The truth often entails finding the right answer, choice, or formula. The search for truth develops a tendency to settle for the easiest choice—a false truth; more often than not, a false truth goes unquestioned in order to remain benighted. Concerning the false truth in The Things They Carried, information—specifically memories, must be sorted into two categories: those stories that are true and those which are simply glorified recreational war stories. It would be a near impossible task due to the extent that the tales mix.

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Telling a true war story can be hard to do, because soldiers are tempted to change some traumatic aspects to make the story easier to comprehend, and not so traumatic for the listener. For the readers who prefer the brutal and gruesome stories,

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The hidden history of the Chicanx community in the United States that I have never familiarized myself with was presented by the ethnic studies course offered by the Sophie’s Scholars Program in Sacred Heart Schools. Throughout the two summers I devoted to education in Sacred Heart Schools through the Sophie’s Scholars Program in the sixth and seventh grade, I was to take four classes: a math course, a science course, a multicultural literature class, and an ethnic studies class. It was the middle of summer; the air was hot and humid, and by the end of the day, students were eager to leave campus, go home, and feel the summer breeze in the afternoon. Meanwhile, I did not enjoy having to go to school for six weeks of my summer, but I was getting accustomed to the new

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Each of the authors is of a psychological background in education, and their credentials are a positive sign in this topic. They considered that age could be a definitive factor in whether or not a person remembers their abuse, and stated that in a study it was found that people abused in ages 3-5 likely would not recall it at a later date. In the second article, “Repressed Memories: True and False”, there was another authority on the subject, author Andrew D. Reisner. Reisner’s view was that recovered memories could be accurate. Though, he also states that the theory that repressed memories themselves may not actually exist is extreme and unjustified.

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The role of women in the United States has been determining since the country was still thirteen colonies. The role in the past defined women to do only their own domestications and household works, such as cleaning, finding some foods, taking care their children and farms, and sometimes their stores. They had no any rights in their property, including to be a head of household, even their husbands were gone or passed away. They also did not have any chances to be one part of politics, and they had no any political voices as much as men did in the society. After the colonies became the United States, however, these women took more active roles in the society by taking care their households instead of their husbands and being participated in

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1280 Words | 6 Pages

This shows us that we don’t have proof of the credibility of some of these memoirs. We could read a memoir, and be manipulated by the danger of a single story. Articles, newspapers, and books may be exaggerated and far from the truth. Many people will just read an piece of literature or hear of news and assume it’s true without second guessing it, especially if it is from the media. When referring to

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941 Words | 4 Pages

Memories are a key aspect in life because they affect our behavior, help us recall events that have happened in life, and last help us learn. Furthermore memories are the events we have experienced in life and due to these experiences they take a toll on a person’s behavior. We may perceive a person has negative or pessimistic but without knowing them we can not assume their personality.

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