The Latin American Oral History Network and the Oral History Seminar of Mexico City with the support of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, the “Dr. José María Luis Mora” Institute, the Directorate of Historical Studies-INAH and the Mexican Oral History Association invites you to the 10th Latin American Oral History Meeting Mexico City, June 12 to 14, 2024.
It has been two decades since oral historians met in Bogotá, inaugurating the series of Latin American Encounters. Over the course of those years, new practitioners from countries in the region have joined, the group of historians has matured in their conception and practice of oral history, and oral history has grown and transformed. It is worth, in this tenth meeting, to reflect on that path and the current moment.
In little more than a generation, oral history moved from the margins to the center of academic discussions. Today it is associated with various approaches to the investigation of the past—memory work, history of the present time, recent history, biographies and testimonial literature—and with important political processes that concern the defense of human rights, disputes over memory and history. public, and the processes of truth and transitional justice.
Oral history has found spaces for practice beyond the academic confines of universities: communities, neighborhoods, schools, political groups, unions, and even sports clubs. The writing of history has also been modified due to the practice of not only resorting to testimony as a source but also converting testimony into a narrative of the past on a par with the historical text. Finally, and adding to the impulse provided by social history, it has contributed to adding topics and including diverse voices that enrich, make more complex and democratize historical knowledge.
The purpose of the RELAHO* oral history meetings has been to share what is new and deliberate on what has been done. We have been interested in interdisciplinary exchange between researchers, teachers, students, and community organizers, that is, turning oral history into a meeting point for those who share the practice and direct it toward different purposes. The invitation is that in 2024 we carry out once again this exercise of reflection and debate that can only benefit our research.
* Latin American Oral History Network
The Meeting will be held based on presentations of papers framed in the following Thematic axes – work tables:
1. Oral history archives: Preservation and dissemination, the role of the oral history archive in transformation
2. Gender, class, ethnicity, culture and politics in peasant communities
3. Gender, class, ethnicity, culture and politics in working-class communities
4. Memory of indigenous peoples
5. Feminist, student, popular and other social movements, protest outbreaks, political organizations
6. Cities, environment and ecological history
7. Oral history in the classroom: formal and informal education
8. Daily life, testimony, life stories
*People interested in presenting a paper are invited to send their proposal – deadline February 5, 2024.
*Proposals for presentations must include a summary of a maximum of 300 words in where the topic to be developed is described and the use of oral history is clearly highlighted. The proposal must indicate the thematic axis where you wish to locate and include full name, contact information and institution of affiliation (if applicable).
*Proposals will be examined by the organizing committee, which will notify their acceptance starting February 26, 2024.
acceptance starting February 26.
*For questions and submission of presentation proposals, please write to the email: xencuentrorelaho@gmail.com
To see the posters for this conference click here and here.
