Oral History and the Diversity of Historical Narratives in Jordan and Europe

In “Local : National”, you will be introduced to Oral History as a distinct methodology that might be used to capture a larger variety of local historical narratives. Endorsed story lines of World War I in Jordan often focus on military and geopolitical events. While such narratives create a coherent national-historical picture, they disregard the diversity of subjective experiences of individuals and their everyday life. This diversity of local identities and different historical narratives in Jordan persists until today. How can Oral History be used as a methodology in order to incorporate these diverse narratives? What are the consequences of the persistence of such variety for the present? How should sources of Oral History be dealt with? What are the possibilities of creating more inclusive historical narratives?

You will analyse different materials such as written text, audio, photography and video from Jordan and Europe that all focus on the period of World War I but tell a very different story. This will enable you to conduct your own Oral History research that might also entail visits to relevant places and institutions in Berlin. You will juxtapose and discuss your findings with those of others and present them to a larger audience in a way that is left open to your own ideas and creativity.

This workshop is provided by

Our History” or “Tarichna” is an oral history project jointly implemented by the Institut Francais de Jordanie, the Institut français du Proche-Orient (IFPO), the German Goethe-Institut and four Jordanian Universities – Mutah University, Al Hussein Bin Talal University, University of Jordan, and Yarmouk University. Its goal is to collect testimonies from the period of the First World War with a focus on social rather than geo-political aspects. Students receive training on Oral History methodologies in order to conduct field work in their communities and capture the different narratives that are still alive about this historical period.

Teamer

AYDAH MHAGIR ABUTAYEH

Jordan

• Received her PhD in Sociology/Criminology from Mutah University
• Researcher and lecturer in the field of Civil Education at the Al Hussein Bin Talal University
• Organised several workshops on gender issues, youth issues and active citizenship

TBD