Ronald J. Grele

Oral History Theory

Oral History Theory is a book of large ambitions. It seeks to winnow through the increasingly large and varied literature on oral history and the body of theory that underlies and defines the practice in order to “provide a user friendly guide to [that] theory” (viii). That Lynn Abrams is successful in so many ways is a testament to her wide and astute reading of works based upon oral history interviews in both historical and cultural studies, various social sciences, and newer fields such as performance studies (although, curiously enough and probably of some interest to an older generation of oral historians, not much folklore), as well as her ability to draw from them the theoretical implications embedded in such a wide range of methodologies. While I have some reservations about the details of the story as presented here and some considerations of where we can go now, based upon the conversation that Abrams has initiated, none of that should diminish the achievement.