Oral History and Ageing
edited by Joanna Bornat and Josie Tetley

Oral history and gerontology have had a rarely spoken relationship over the years. Yet the links between the two should be obvious primarily because each has an interest in older people. For the oral historian, older people are the key to the past, as witnesses they speak it, reconstruct it and, sometimes are its inventors, its authors. Gerontologists also talk to older people, though more often, perhaps, they tend to observe them and those who are close to them: their carers, friends, practitioners and spokespersons. For both gerontology and oral history, the interview is a key research tool, both focus on remembering and both show concern for issues raised by participation, ownership and the presentation of the outcomes of their engagement with the lives of older people.

The authors, all leading UK oral historians, illustrate four very different approaches within an oral history tradition, yet each has resonance and relevance for gerontologists. The aim in presenting this collection is to stimulate further discussions and opportunities to share research approaches and findings amongst oral historians and gerontologists in the hope that creative research partnerships may ensue in the future. 

Contents: Introduction, Joanna Bornat and Josie Tetley. Transnational families, ageing and realising dreams of home, Paul Thompson. Remembering in later life: Some lessons from oral history, Al Thomson. Sex, lives and videotape: Oral history group work and older adult education groups, Graham Smith. Experience shared and valued: Current development of personal and community memory, Pam Schweitzer.

No 9 The Representation of Older People in Ageing Research Series

A joint series from the Centre for Ageing and Biographical Studies at the Open University and the Centre for Policy on Ageing