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ISSN 2084–1418
The paper edition of the Anthropology of History Yearbook is the definitive version

2018, No. (11), Cultural History of Knowledge

Anna Kurpiel
Manifolding your own mistakes or learning from yourself? On the relationships of oral history with cultural anthropology and the need for a strong identity

PDF version
Keywords: history, oral history, anthropology, research methods, disciplines’ identity

Abstract:
The article is an extended version of the paper presented during the session: ‘Oral history - ethnography - cultural anthropology’ of the Polish Ethnological Association’s Conference (Wrocław 2016). Mutual (and sometimes difficult) relation of anthropology, oral history, and history results in several “lessons” or “traps” for scientists who stayed in between those disciplines. The author referring to her own experience of an ethnologist who has been dealing with oral history for years raises and outlines a number of them, such as: returning to the field, methodological slackness, ethical reflection or a ‘trap of a positive hero. The article's conclusion is an attempt to reflect on the essence of the identity of oral history as a separate academic discipline, according to the author based on three pillars: orality, human-oriented attitude and understanding cognition.

About Author:
ANNA KURPIEL - ethnologist and cultural anthropologist, assistant professor at the Department of Social Sciences, Willy Brandt Center for German and European Studies University of Wroclaw
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