Oral History at the Crossroads

When hundreds of people displaced by mass violence volunteered to tell their stories to the Montreal Life Stories project, they challenged long-held beliefs about how oral stories should be recorded, collected, and 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, it provides an alternative model to traditional research practice, one where community members “share authority” as equal partners in a project. More than a hundred photographs illustrate the experiences of those who participated in the project and highlight the intersections between oral history, digital media, and performance.

A sustained reflection on 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, it pushes the field in new directions.