As digitization increased, the reach of history broadened. Who gets to decide what is included in the official record of our past and what is worth remembering? This podcast explores the history and formalization of oral history, how it gives marginalized people a voice, and the challenges in collecting testimonies in the context of post-conflict societies. We recognize the authority given to people when we make their voice part of history. We investigate how interviewing survivors of atrocities, such as the Srebrenica genocide during the Bosnian War, can give validity and space to the previously oppressed. When dealing with perpetrators of violence who deny their past crimes, testimonies of survivors can corroborate and contextualize other forms of evidence. We attempt to address questions such as: how does talking about trauma affect the survivors, what are the challenges of transcribing an oral account, what’s the value of incorporating subjective accounts in history, can individual voices challenge a dominant interpretation of the past, can oral history be an effective tool for post-conflict reconciliation. As we look into history collection changing, we will see shifts in how history is retold and preserved. Reconciliation and changes in the collection of history push us towards a more inclusive and multicultural society.

To download a full transcript, visit humanrightspodcast.sandbox.library.columbia.edu.