It does a lot for our feeling of morality, but it ain't the ball game. I think, here, we talk about objectivity as if we were going to emulate scientists and also believing that scientists are completely objective in their work. The minute you ask a question you have a bias. The transcripts and exhibits presented here are meant to be viewed with an active and critical eye. The viewer must make some assessments as well as the synthesis between the many threads presented here and the wider context of events, stories, and histories.
Oral history is a powerful tool.
Oral history gives voice to those who may not be represented in the historical record. The Miami Valley Cultural Heritage Project seeks both to present the narrators and their communities with respect and to be honest to the complexities and conflicts of their lives so that we may all learn f rom their experiences. To hear people tell their own stories, to listen to the interaction between interviewer and narrator as they construct a shared explanation, is a different experience from reading an edited transcript and l istening to a sound byte. The stories we tell about ourselves and our experiences are told in the details, the phrases and the word choices as well as in the timeline or plot. It is important to listen, to hear the pause, the silence, and the laughter.