CFP: Oral History and Working Class History

Call for Papers

Deadline:

Dec.1, 2011 - Abstracts (one to two pages) and CVs

April 1, 2012 - Complete papers

Working Lives: Special Issue on Oral History and Working-Class History

Since the 1960s, if not before, labour and working-class history has been closely connected to the practice of oral history. Working-class historians were at the forefront of developments in oral history, often using this method as a means of recuperating the history of those who were less likely to leave archival and written sources. They created written histories, archival collections, museum exhibits and community projects that gave workers, their families and their communities a new voice, and a new place in history. Writing on working-class oral history has also encompassed far more than recovery projects; scholars have enriched the field of oral history by addressing questions about method, theory and approach, by offering critical reflections on our assumptions and expectations about oral history practice. Oral history has similarly enriched the field of working class history, posing new questions, challenging existing interpretations, and diversifying the themes and subjects we study

The Oral History Forum d’histoire orale is currently seeking contributions that engage with oral history and working-class history, broadly defined. This special issue will explore questions of method, theory, approach, and examine the ways in which oral history offers a unique perspective and insights into working class history. University researchers, community organizers, educators, oral historians, public historians, and others who are working in this field are invited to submit theoretical and methodological papers, as well as empirically-based essays based on original research, reviews (books, new media, exhibitions, films, theatrical productions), and discussions for this special edition of the journal. Topics might include (but are not limited to) paid work, unpaid labour, the labour movement, politics, working-class communities and culture, the intersections of gender, race/ethnicity, religion, and class, immigrant and migrant communities, unemployment and poverty, and state interventions in working-class lives. All article submissions will be subject to the normal peer review process of the journal.

The Oral History Forum d’histoire orale is the online journal of the Canadian Oral History Association www.oralhistoryforum.ca which serves as the online meeting place for scholars, community activists, librarians, archivists, and others who use oral history to explore the past. Through this open-access collection we hope to generate discussion on this important theme and provide a valuable resource for people interested in the study of oral history and working-class history, whether in the classroom or in their own research. Articles will be published as soon as they are ready, ensuring a quick turn around time for early submissions, and the collection will be launched in 2012.

Please send queries and submissions to:

Joan Sangster and Janis Thiessen

jsangster@trentu.ca and Janis.Thiessen@unb.ca

Guest Editors, Oral History Forum d’histoire orale

University of Winnipeg

515 Portage Avenue

Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3B 2E9