Discusses oral history in precolonial and more recent times in the Philippines, with particular emphasis on the activities of the Filipino institutions and scholars engaged currently in oral history projects. Projects are classified by geographical location in the Metro Manila area, in the Visayas, and in Mindanao. (DB)

Describes the development of a processing methodology for oral history tapes--the TAPE System (Timed Access to Pertinent Excerpts). Developed at the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, the TAPE system is linked to a philosophy that the sound recording itself is the primary source document. (DB)

A national autobiography competition was conducted for the Finnish people in 1979. Altogether, 137 autobiographies were received. Characteristics of four generations of Finns and changes in historical perspective as revealed in the autobiographies are discussed. (RM)

Analyses of Polish workers' diaries, oral histories and other primary sources illustrate problems of obtaining objective information. The author proposes a new system for reaching valid historical conclusions when using these kinds of materials. (AM)

Describes the author's 1962 attempt to obtain an oral history of Czech immigrants in Texas. Examines the difficulties involved in the interview process and discusses the subjects' reactions. States that oral history presents an opportunity to record the subtle nuances of people's lives; their hopes, fears, expectations, and disappointments. (GEA)

Focuses on sources of distortion and other inaccuracies in the work of oral historians and explains that such problems result from efforts of informants and historians to make a narrative more easily understood by the audience. Considers various efforts by oral historians to minimize distortion by using greater care and rigor in conducting,…

Describes the author's use of advocacy oral history in interviews of people devoted to Montana's wilderness preservation. Discusses the use of questions to elicit broad humanistic responses as opposed to striking journalistic quotations. Examines the differences between traditional and advocacy oral history and the benefits of the latter. (GEA)

Oral history, in a variety of interesting ways, had been practiced in China since the 1949 liberation when Chiang Kai-shek was overthrown. Some Chinese oral history studies are described. (RM)

One task facing persons who would employ oral sources for writing and teaching the history of the Pacific is the use of testimonies from Pacific Islanders. Discusses issues that should be taken into consideration: memory, testimony as performance, teller as hero, and testimony as conversational narrative. (RM)

Examines a historian's experiences and impressions gained while interviewing the immigrant generation in a community of Jewish chicken farmers in Petaluma, California. Information is presented on the differences in attitudes and aspirations between generations, interview techniques, problems of interviewer credibility, and problems of…

Discusses source monopoly and its effects on historical scholarship. Suggests that what is needed is a series of international depositories which serve as clearinghouses for the creation and preservation of oral materials. Ideally, these clearinghouses would be staffed by specially trained historians. (DB)

Microcomputers can offer much assistance in one of the major problems that faces virtually every oral history program--organizing, manipulating, and making available the vast quantities of historical data collected. How to automate an oral history program is described. The database management system dBASE II is discussed. (RM)

Oral interviews were conducted with women in exile from Brazil, including those forced to leave the country and those who fled voluntarily and were conscious of making a political decision. Political involvement gave them the possibility to discover their actual capabilities and self-worth. (RM)

Describes the author's research with an African hunter-gatherer society and the collection of oral life histories of its members. Discusses five questions about the uses of personal narrative such as "Can personal narrative be used as ethnography?" Concludes that no better tool exists to describe the human condition than the personal…

Examines the process by which oral history materials become public historical documents. As a case study, the article focuses on an interview-based article in the "New York Times" on unemployment in Buffalo, New York. Topics discussed include interview techniques, editorial policy, relevance, and social consciousness. (DB)