The Voice of the Past: Oral History (Oxford Oral History Series)

Oral history gives history back to the people in their own words. And in giving a past, it also helps them towards a future of their own making. Oral history and life stories help to create a truer picture of the past and the changing present, documenting the lives and feelings of all kinds of people, many otherwise hidden from history. It explores personal and family relationships and uncovers the secret cultures of work. It connects public and private experience, and it highlights the experiences of migrating between cultures. At the same time it can bring courage to the old, meaning to communities, and contact between generations. Sometimes it can offer a path for healing divided communities and those with traumatic memories. Without it the history and sociology of our time would be poor and narrow.In this fourth edition of his pioneering work, fully revised with Joanna Bornat, Paul Thompson challenges the accepted myths of historical scholarship. He discusses the reliability of oral evidence in comparison with other sources and considers the social context of its development. He looks at the relationship between memory, the self and identity. He traces oral history through its own past and weighs up the recent achievements of a movement which has become international, with notably strong developments in North America, Europe, Australia, Latin America, South Africa and the Far East, despite resistance from more conservative academics.This new edition combines the classic text of The Voice of the Past with many new sections, including especially the worldwide development of different forms of oral history and the parallel memory boom, as well as discussions of theory in oral history and of memory, trauma and reconciliation. It offers a deep social and historical interpretation along with succinct practical advice on designing and carrying out a project, The Voice of the Past remains an invaluable tool for anyone setting out to use oral history and life stories to construct a more authentic and balanced record of the past and the present.

History

Thompson, Paul

Historical Study & Educational Resources

Oxford University Press

The Work of William Morris

Extensively revised, this third edition of The Work of William Morris encompasses the results of recent scholarship, including in particular the new perspectives of feminist scholarship. Thompson examines how Morris's concerns anticipated those of present day environmentalists and explores in full detail Morris's views on child-centered education. Bringing to life his magnetic personality, this biography of one of the original socialists offers insight into Morris's campaign to bring art back to the people.

Literature & Fiction

History & Criticism

The Voice of the Past: Oral History

In this revised edition, Paul Thompson argues that oral history can help to create a truer picture of the past, documenting the lives and feeling of all kinds of people, and that its value has been neglected by conventional historians. The effect of collecting oral evidence, he claims, can be to bind together communities and promote contact between generations. The development of oral history is traced through its past and into the future, demonstrating how it can be evaluated alongside the traditional sources of history to construct a more democratic record of the past. There is a new chapter on "Memory and the self" examining the therapeutic value of reminiscence.

Arts & Photography

Drawing on several hundred printed and recorded autobiographical recollections and life story interviews with three generations of families, this book by Britain's preeminent oral historian provides a unique view of later life. Little has ever been written by historians about growing older in earlier generations, and because sociologists and gerontologists, policy experts, and health researchers have concentrated on problems--reinforcing common images of old age as a time of dependence, incapability, and withdrawal--the typical experience of aging today has never been revealed. The men and women in this study--ranging in age from their sixties to their eighties--reject these derogatory images. They have met later life as a an active challenge, and tell of meaningful, fulfilling lives.

I Don't Feel Old: The Experience of Later Life

Oxford Univ Pr (Sd)

In this new edition of a standard text on the subject, Paul Thompson argues that oral history, though largely neglected by conventional historians, can help to create a truer, more democratic picture of the past, documenting the lives and feelings of all types of people. In addition to tracing the development, theory, and practical methods of oral history, this edition includes many new examples and chapters, and an enlarged bibliography, bringing Thompson's work completely up to date.

Americas

Now in a new edition, this influential book traces oral history through its own past and weighs up the recent achievements of this international movement. Paul Thompson challenges myths of historical scholarship and looks closely at the use of oral sources by historians. He offers advice on designing a project; discusses reliability of oral evidence; considers the context of the development of historical writing including its social function; and looks at memory, the self and the use of drama and therapy. This new edition has been substantially revised and updated and includes an expanded discussion of narrative approaches and looks at new technology used in the recording of information.

Drawing on several hundred printed and recorded autobiographical recollections and life story interviews with three generations of families, this book by Britain's preeminent oral historian provides a unique view of later life. Little has ever been written by historians about growing older in earlier generations, and because sociologists and gerontologists, policy experts, and health researchers have concentrated on problems--reinforcing common images of old age as a time of dependence, incapability, and withdrawal--the typical experience of aging today has never been revealed. The men and women in this study--ranging in age from their sixties to their eighties--reject these derogatory images. They have met later life as a an active challenge, and tell of meaningful, fulfilling lives.

Itzin, Catherine

Abendstern, Michele

Biographies & Memoirs

Calling for a broader new approach to social mobility research which goes beyond statistics and utilizes life stories and family case histories, this richly suggestive volume explores sociological issues such as transmission between family generations, how immigrants make good, how social elites survive revolutions, and the meanings of houses, places and dreams for mobility.

Pathways to Social Class: A Qualitative Approach to Social Mobility

Bertaux, Daniel

British & Irish

Growing Up in Stepfamilies

Millions of children in Britain now grow up in stepfamilies, but little is reliably known about their experiences of stepfamily life--or why some of these young people encounter problems in the long run while other flourish. This is a new, pioneering, multidisciplinary study that tracks the lives of fifty children born in 1958, offering unique insights into the long-term effects of stepfamily life in the UK today. It will interest many scholars and students of sociology, social policy, public policy/administration, and psychology.

Politics & Social Sciences

Gorell-Barnes, Gill

Daniel, Gwyn

Burchardt, Natasha

Social Sciences

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Thompson, Paul. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Thompson, Paul

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Thompson, Paul. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Voice of the Past: Oral History (Oxford Oral History Series)

The Work of William Morris

The Voice of the Past: Oral History

The Work of William Morris

I Don't Feel Old: The Experience of Later Life

The Voice of the Past: Oral History

The Voice of the Past: Oral History

I Don't Feel Old: The Experience of Later Life

Pathways to Social Class: A Qualitative Approach to Social Mobility

Growing Up in Stepfamilies