Oral History at the Crossroads

Over a span of seven years, hundreds of people displaced from their countries of origin by mass violence volunteered to tell their stories to the Montreal Life Stories project. Their stories provide crucial insights into the causes and experiences of crimes against humanity and into how such violence is remembered. The project not only gathered interview material as a record and a rich set of primary sources, it also challenged long-held beliefs about how oral stories should be recorded, who has the authority to collect them, and how they can be shared.

Using the Montreal Life Stories project as an example of collective storytelling, Oral History at the Crossroads rejects the idea that there must be “critical distance” between researchers and their subjects. Instead, this book provides an alternative model to traditional research practice, one where community members “share authority” as equal partners at all stages of a project – from its inception to its conclusion. The experiences of those who participated in the Montreal Life Stories project are richly illustrated by more than a hundred photographs highlighting the intersections between oral history, digital media, and performance.

A sustained reflection on the methodology and ethics in multi-layered, collaborative research, Oral History at the Crossroads has methodological and ethical implications for scholars. And, as a contemporary model for curating oral and public history, this book pushes the field in new directions.