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Abolfat’h Mo’men, Writer and Researcher
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Note: Abolfat’h Mo’men is a former colleague of The Resistance Culture and Literature Researchers and Studies Center during the years “Iranian Contemporary Prominent Figures” was being compiled. He has been active in oral history project in the last few years particularly in the fields of Islamic Revolution and Sacred Defence in Hamedan Province. “Islamic Revolution in Hamadan” is one of his works. He expressed his ideas in the following note:
Iranian Oral History Weekly, active in fields of Islamic Revolution and Holy Defense oral history and theoretical debates, is in the threshold of its 100th number. I made it an excuse to scrutinize this electronic journal and its operation.
Oral history is a co-walker with Islamic Revolution, has found new dimensions and a new mission through entering Holy Defense arena, so that it has become one of the new resources of research for the investigators and researchers. Knowing and observing the principles and rules of this source, they can use this new origin. But to consider the weekly and its operation I should refer to some points:
- In any new discussion and subject some theoretical basis, principles and rules should be defined and presented. The above mentioned weekly has not been so successful in this field, because new attitude to oral history, which sometimes memory writing, memory recording, memory unfolding, etc, are considered among them, gradually transforms into an industry with numerous custodians who just care about the numbers. This is a very serious defect for the live and intact source of oral history.
- It seems one of the missions of the weekly and its serving and right-minded custodians, to direct other parallel centers which finally could lead to a unique professional center so that the quality of the work not to be sacrificed for the quantity. At least an inter-units investigational and research council can be created for this end, although it is a hard work. In Literature and Humanities Department of Isfahan University, Dr. Noora’i and his colleagues have started the academic course of oral history. This is not enough and more works should be done in this field. Oral history discourses and projects should be prepared and formulated in academic centers.
- In addition to introducing the standards and methods, it is necessary to present and explain the related sources through this weekly in sequential numbers.
- It is right that oral history apparently follow the same principles, rules and methodologies all over the world, but the time and the place of the events and those involved in the incidents with certain and different cultures, customs, ceremonies, believes and history should not be ignored. This requires a special look at the subjects and to make them national and regional. This is a subject that demands special attention from oral history weekly and historians.
- Introducing scientific and cultural domestic and foreign centers active in oral history is a necessary point. In this way one can easily find out which fields other centers are active in and what is their trend toward oral history. Probably some works has been done in terms of form but there still the absence of content discussions is felt.
- One of the valuable works done by the weekly is to insert the content of the oral history domestic and foreign meetings and round tables in scientific and cultural centers. If the content of these meetings and round tables is gathered and rendered by a skillful professional in a practical form, it can solve many problems.
- In addition to practical and instrumental discussions in oral history, the place of question, problem and hypothesis in oral history is somewhat ignored. Whether all these should be paid attention in oral history or considering one or two is enough? Indeed, our first need after passing the first step is to consider the difference between producing a historical source and an investigational work of analytical and explanatory character.
And for the last word, the above mentioned points which are actually the expectations of oral history activists from the weekly do not reduce the value of its scientific and facilitating operation. Always to start a work is the hardest part, which the weekly has done it successfully in a way that now we can have a critic look at its belongings.
Translated by: Asghar Abutorabi
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