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Explanation or Analysis on Oral History of War
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Undoubtedly, war had been one of the most important factors in the formation and development of oral history in Iran. The high volume of Interviews and the books which have been published based upon them, are indicating the importance of oral history in recording and transferring the realities of war in Iran. Despite more than two decades have passed since the start of the activities related to oral history of war, still there were debates and some basic objections from the experts and scholars in the field of how they were carried out and archived, and there was less convincing answer to them. Topics such as, "the difference between oral history and telling reminiscence", "person-oriented or project-oriented", "the people’s stand” (especially in areas close to war), "the stand of regular forces", "mismatch between the centers involved in oral history of war", and "no central archive for information and services" and many other issues.
Surveying the function of oral history in the Iran-Iraq war shows the use of that in the following formats:
The most general way for recording the war memories
Means to express the functions and group functions in war
Means for personalizing the war’s history in the eyes of individuals
Means for publications of war in society
The most important function of oral history in the fields listed is explanation of war’s unspoken and a tool for gathering information which has been not mentioned elsewhere or had no opportunity to register. The result of these activities, is the "Explanation process" of war’s oral history that stating the initial value of oral history as an effective tool for expressing the reality of war. It seems that after two decades activity in this field and thousands hours of interviewing and hundreds prints of books, other approaches should be applied to the oral history, and this is an issue that can be remember as "value-added oral history".
Analysis and challenge of war’s history by using oral history is a subject that is rarely discussed. For years oral historians in the world, use oral history not just as a tool for data collection, but a means to challenge the previous data and analysis of historical events, In order to generate the new required data for each historical period. This is the reason for redefining some of war concepts and researching angles which have been overlooked for whatever reason.
The fact is that historical needs of every society vary in different periods of history, according to the same period needs and conditions; and flexibility in shape and presenting form of each historical fact, including war, can help to its dynamics; a question which is mentioned as "the life of an event in history”. During this country’s history, a lot of large and small events have happened that just some of them have been registered in the people’s historical memory. Like it or lump it, as history has shown, over time, many of the issues, consciously or unconsciously, their nature has changed and appropriately each period, new definitions is provided for either of them. As a historical event, war also is an undeniable part of the Iranian’s life in a historical period and will remain in their historical memory forever. We should note, however, each generation has its own history and does not force to accept the opinions of previous generations. In order to create a ground for looking to the future of history, it is relevant by using oral history as a tool for analyzing and challenging, to reproduce and criticize previous contexts of war’s history.
Abolfazl Hassanabadi,
Document and Press Management
Translated by: Zahra Hosseinian
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