Oral history in its many forms has been an integral part of African history. Africanist historians have long examined how fundamental it is to doing African history and also how complicated it can be, from Jan Vansina’s Oral Tradition as History, through the work by his students to Louise White, Stephan F. Miescher, and David William Cohen’s volume, plus many others who have analyzed oral history in their own research. This panel seeks to bring to the fore what happens behind the scenes that does not often make it to print – requests for interviews mistaken as marriage proposals, equipment fails, unexpected guests, IRB encounters, working with research assistants, and the researcher’s own exposed vulnerabilities. Whether simply humorous or profound, these aspects of conducting oral history are an important part of the process. The panel aims to explore doing African oral history from a wide variety of perspectives with the view of ultimately publishing an updated practical guide. Abstracts from people doing research in all areas of the continent, with different types of oral histories, and different relationships to the people participating in oral history projects (e.g. from outside or inside communities) are welcome.
Please send abstracts of around 200 words along with your affiliation and contact information to leslie_hadfield@byu.edu by March 1, 2026.
