Practicing Oral History Among Refugees and Host Communities

Marella Hoffman is a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute and has held positions at Cambridge University as well as at universities in France, Switzerland and Ireland. A former chief editor of a public policy magazine, her projects with communities have been taught as positive practice by government. Her other books include Practicing Oral History to Improve Public Policies and Programs (2018), Asylum under Dreaming Spires: Refugees’ Lives in Cambridge Today (2017), and Savoir-Faire of the Elders: Green Knowledge in the French Mediterranean Hills (2016). She runs a Writers’ Retreat Centre in southern France; visit www.marellahoffman.com.

Part I – What is being done around the world 1. How oral history can improve outcomes for refugees and host communities 2. The importance of listening to host communities 3. The tradition of oral history with refugees, and how it’s radically changing 4. Case studies of oral histories with refugees: Transforming lives and outcomes 5. Case studies of oral histories with host communities: Letting discontent be heard Part II – Doing your own oral histories to improve outcomes for refugees or host communities – The step by step guide 6. The ethics, risks and legalities of doing oral history with refugees or host communities 7. Strategically planning an oral history project that will improve outcomes for refugees or host communities. 8. Doing interviews that will make a difference 9. Editing and publicizing narrators’ interviews in ways that help improve outcomes for communities 10. Soaring refugee numbers, a twenty-first century ‘mega-problem’: Applied oral history skills as part of the solution Appendices Glossary – some key concepts used in this book