ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we show that oral history has the potential to disrupt dominant narratives. The approach is rooted in a desire to listen to and make visible the experiences of individuals that were excluded from the archive. To realize this desire, a researcher should first address the interplay among the three concepts of temporality, ambiguity, and narration, especially with respect to domination and change. Specifically, we argue that the critical practice of oral history methodologies requires a clear sense of temporality and the heterogeneous nature of causation lodged within the event. It also requires the researcher to reflexively listen and represent the participants’ stories. This deep listening is only achieved through the establishment of rapport through and despite differences between the researcher and participant. Distinctively, the tradition of oral history also requires the deposit of the interview in a public archive so that others may use it in their critiques of the dominant discourses.
