Oral history: narration, ritual, memory. An anthropological psychology perspective

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PS_W02

PS_W03

PS_W08

PS_K03

PS_K07

The seminar focuses on the so-called oral history seen from a psychological perspective along with its broad context, including primarily cultural anthropology and sociology. Oral history is seen here as an interdisciplinary research method, consisting in collecting, archiving and analyzing oral accounts of both historical events and personal experiences of people.

The theoretical part of the course is devoted to issues such as autobiographical and cultural memory, narration, trauma and philosophical assumptions of oral history. The role and meaning of the spoken word in traditional cultures are also discussed.The practical part includes learning about the methods of collecting, transcribing and analyzing autobiographical interviews as well as conducting and preparing a conversation with a witness of historical events.

Course topics:

1. Oral history as an interdisciplinary field of knowledge. Usefulness of oral history in psychological research.

2. The contemporary understanding of the notion of narration in psychology and its role in the analysis of oral histories.

3. The roots of the narrative. Spoken word, myth and ritual in tribal cultures.

4. Autobiographical memory and its importance in constructing self-narratives. Autobiographical memory and traumatic memory. Between memory and history.

5. Memory and identity. The role of memory in Ethiopian culture.

6. Dialogicality and humanistic potential of oral history.

7. Oral history in the perspective of the philosophy of dialogue.

8. Towards practice - qualitative research in the field of psychology and other social sciences. Methods of collecting and analyzing autobiographical narratives.

9. Biographical method in sociology.

10. Collecting and analyzing material using the method of Fritz Schütze's autobiographical narrative interview.

11. From research on war testimonies: Dreams about Auschwitz. Dream analysis as an example of research on traumatic memory.

12. About contemporary trends in anthropology and sociology of memory: cultural frames of memory, its carriers, social and cultural practices.

13. Memory of places: about social methods of commemorating the crimes of the 20th century.

14. Presentations of individual student projects.

Bruner, J. (1992). Life as a narrative. Pedagogical Quarterly, 2, 3-18.

Chymkowski, R. et al. (ed.) (2018). Memory anthropology. Issues and choice of texts. Warsaw: Publishing House of the University of Warsaw.

Dopierała, R., Waniek, K. (ed.) (2017). Biography and War. Biographical method in the study of social processes. Łódź: Publishing House of the University of Łódź.

Jagodzińska M. (2008) Psychology of memory. Research, theories, applications. Gliwice: Helion Publishing House.

Filipkowski, P. (2010). Oral history and war. The experience of the concentration camp in the perspective of biographical narratives. Wrocław: Publishing House of the University of Wrocław.

Gałdowa, A. (ed.) (2000). Human identity. Krakow: Jagiellonian University Press.

Janusz, B., Gdowska, K., de Barbaro, B. (2008). Narration. Theory and practice. Krakow: Jagiellonian University Press.

Jemielniak, D. (ed.) (2012) Qualitative research. Methods and tools. Warsaw: PWN

Kaźmierska, K. (ed.) (2012). Biographical method in sociology. An anthology of texts. Krakow: Nomos

Kaźmierska, K., Waniek, K. (2020). Autobiographical narrative interview: method, technique, analysis. Łódź: Publishing House of the University of Łódź.

Kvale, S. (2011). Conducting interviews. Warsaw: PWN.

Maruszewski, T. (2005). Autobiographical memory. Gdańsk: Gdańsk Psychological Publishing House.

Prawda, M. (1989). Biographical reconstruction of reality (On the concept of biographical research by Fritz Schütze), Studia Socjologiczne, vol. 4, 81-98.

Rokuszewska-Pawełek, A. (2001). Second World War - Memory and Identity, Culture and Society, 3-4.

Trzebiński, J. (2002) Narrative construction of reality, [in:] Narration as a way of understanding the world, Gdańskie Wydawnictwo Psychologiczne, Gdańsk, pp. 17-42.

Ulatowska, H. (2011). Narration in human experience. Second texts: literary theory, criticism, interpretation No. 1/2 (127-128), 75-91

Wosińska, W., Zagórska, W. (in press). The word of the night. Analysis of the dreams of Auschwitz prisoners in a narrative approach. In: E. Dryll, A. Cierpka, K. Małek (ed.), Narrative psychology. About wisdom, love and suffering. Warsaw: Liberi Libri.

The final grade will consist of:

- attendance - 50%

- commitment (participation in discussions, presentation on a selected topic - 25%

- conducting and analyzing an interview with a witness to history - 25%