Abstract: História oral como arte de escuta, by Alessandro Portelli, discusses the methodology of oral history in relation to memory, trauma and war. It stands out for its dialogical analysis between narrator and historian, but requires prior knowledge of Rome. Recommended for students of history, memory and research methodology.
Keywords: Oral History, interviews, and research methodology.
História oral como arte de escuta was published in 2016 and reprinted for the first time in 2021 by Letra e Voz. In the absence of a preface, we can assume that its aim is to guide reflection along three fundamental axes: the theoretical, methodological and philosophical issues relevant to working with testimonies; the forms that individual memory, of oral origin, takes in the public space; the relationship between memory and war, trauma and testimony.
Alessandro Portelli is an Italian historian and literary scholar who divides his time between Italy and the United States. He is a professor of North American literature at La Sapienza University in Rome and the author of a large body of literature, all of which focuses on understanding historical events through their expression in popular culture, which he approaches through the methodology of oral history. In Brazil, he is a reference theorist in this methodology and has published several articles as well as the book: Ensaios de história oral (2010). The book is divided into three parts: 1. “Memory and Dialogue”; 2. “The Forms of Public Memory”; and 3. “War and Memory”. Each part is divided into three chapters spread over 191 pages, as well as “Narrators”, “References” and “Bibliography: other works by Alessandro Portelli published in Brazil”.
The first part is a more theoretical and methodological discussion on the role of orality in historical research and the recovery of memory. It deals with the philosophical and methodological issues related to this practice. It is divided into three chapters: in the first, the author distinguishes between oral tradition and oral source, where it becomes clear that oral tradition is made up of verbal constructs that are formalized, transmitted, and shared, while oral sources are individual, informal narratives created in the encounter between historian and narrator in a dialogical relationship: the interview. Portelli goes on to describe in detail how he met three interviewees who shaped his career as an oral historian, noting that an “interview” refers to two people looking at each other. He reiterates that “the observer is watching us-they are usually more perceptive than we are, judging us by our body language and behaviors that we are not even aware of” (p. 15). In the third chapter, he discusses memory, stating that it is neither good nor bad: “Memory just is: we can’t decide whether we will have a memory or not, and we can only control some of its content and how it works.
In the second part, the author shows the articulation between the forms of oral memory and its public dimension, highlighting the public nature of memory. In the fourth chapter, he gives some background on the cultural and political context of Rome, the emergence of the House of Memory and History in 2006, as well as the challenges this institution faced in maintaining itself as a space of resistance to the political change in 2008, when the center-left government was replaced by a right-wing one. In the fifth chapter, Portelli comments on three protagonists who used music to bear critical witness to the condition and experience of migrants in Italy and who participated in the Circolo Gianni Bosio, an independent organization based in Rome that works with folk music, oral history, and popular culture. Chapter six brings the author’s experience of interviewing two hundred survivors of the 1944 Nazi massacre in which 335 men were executed by the Germans. In this chapter, Portelli shows how oral storytelling is renewed with each telling, as it is constantly changing, shaped by both the listener’s reaction and the teller’s mental state.
In the third part, he presents concrete examples of the work of recovering the memory of war events through oral history, highlighting the links between the testimonies and the traumas that are added to their memory. In the seventh chapter, Portelli analyzes the testimonies of the battle of Poggio Bustone (a small town in Sabina), where in 1944 the Fascists in Rieti brought deserters back into the Fascist army. Thus, the author understands the battle of Poggio Bustone as the subject of innumerable narratives that represent the event in contradictory, distorted and sometimes invented ways. But instead of dismissing them as unreliable, we must find in the distortions of the facts and in the mutual contradictions precious clues to the work of memory, imagination and interpretation. In the eighth chapter, the author suggests the existence of a “suspended time” that would be a place of transition almost forgotten by history, some accounts that are compressed or suppressed in the testimonies of people, such as the example of the period when the Jews were imprisoned in Rome, in the Military College of the Salviati Palace (p.124). Finally, in the ninth chapter, Portelli states that oral history is essentially an attempt to reconnect the local perspective, coming from below, and the scientific perspective, seen from above; to contextualize the local and allow the scientific to recognize it.
Oral history, then, brings top-down and bottom-up history together in the same text – at a negotiating table – creating an equal dialogue between the historian’s awareness of broader spatial and temporal patterns and the local narrator’s personal, more punctual narrative.
(Children) Through the lens of historian Klewerson Lima, a neighborhood in the capital of Pará tells its own story | Photo: Klewerson Lima/Estadão
As we can see, the book makes great contributions to the knowledge and practice of oral history research. However, despite the relevance of the topics covered, the lack of a preface, presentation, or introduction in the 2021 edition makes it difficult to understand the author’s motivations and the specific objectives of the book, forcing the reader to make assumptions about its purpose. In addition, the work requires the reader to have a minimal knowledge of Roman history and politics in order to properly understand the book.
Despite these shortcomings, the book has several positive attributes. First, it is a valuable contribution to the field of oral history and collective memory, in which the author demonstrates a profound mastery of oral history methodology and brings to light the importance of the dialogue between interviewer and interviewee for the construction of authentic and meaningful narratives. By emphasizing the dialogic relationship in the interview, Portelli underscores the need to listen to the voices of those often marginalized by official history. One of the book’s strengths is its ability to present specific cases and the author’s personal experiences as an oral historian. This allows the reader to emotionally connect with the narratives and understand the richness of the individual stories that make up collective memory. By describing his practice of interviewing survivors of the Nazi massacre and migrants in Italy, Portelli offers a more human perspective on the past.
The book is recommended for scholars and those interested in history, memory, and research methodology. It offers valuable insights into the complexity of individual and collective memory, as well as the importance of contextualizing local narratives within a broader historical perspective. It provides a comprehensive and inspiring insight into the construction of historical knowledge through attentive and sensitive listening to the narratives of witnesses and survivors, highlighting the relevance and richness of oral history as an art form of listening.
Summary ofHistória oral como arte de escuta
I. Memória e diálogo
1. História oral: uma relação dialógica
2. Para além da entrevista: uma autoetnografia da minha prática
3. Sobre os usos da memória: Memória — monumento, memória involuntária, memória perturbadora
II. As formas da memória pública
4. A Casa da memória e da história de Roma: políticas de memória e instituições públicas
5. “Hóspedes”: três vozes migrantes na Itália
6. Radio Clandestina: da história oral ao teatro
III. Guerra e Memória
7. A batalha de Poggio Bstone: violência, memória e imaginação na guerra partigiana
8. À beira do genocídio: os dois dias dos judeus romanos deportados no Colégio Militar da Piazza della Rovere
9. Um ônibus vermelho: vítimas inocentes de canhões libertadores
Narradores
Referências
Bibliografia compilada: outras obras de Alessandro Portelli publicadas no Brasil
Reviewers
Francielle Novaes Dourado is a Master student in the Programa de Pós-Graduação em Estudos Africanos, Povos Indígenas e Culturas Negras (PPGEAFIN/Uneb), Specialist in Collective Health with a focus on PSF (FTC), Graduate in Pedagogy from the Universidade Estadual de Feira de SAntana (UEFS) and Bachelor in Nursing from the Faculty of Faculdade de Tecnologia e Ciências (FTC). She is a lecturer at the Faculdade Irecê (FAI). ID LATTES: http://lattes.cnpq.br/5100888553534807; ID ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2931-8528; Email: franciele.dourado@faifaculdade.com.br.
To cite this review
PORTELLI, Alessandro. História oral como arte de escuta. São Paulo: Letra e Voz, 2021. 200p. Review by: DOURADO, Francielle Novaes. Exchange of Views. Crítica Historiográfica. Natal, v.4, n.16, mar./abr., 2024. Available at <https://www.criticahistoriografica.com.br/en/exchanging-glances-francielle-novaes-dourados-ppgeafin-uneb-review-of-the-book-historia-oral-como-arte-de-escuta-by-alessandro-portelli/ttps://www.criticahistoriografica.com.br/en/exchanging-glances-francielle-novaes-dourados-ppgeafin-uneb-review-of-the-book-oral-history-as-the-art-of-listening-by-alessandro-portelli/>.
Abstract: História oral como arte de escuta, by Alessandro Portelli, discusses the methodology of oral history in relation to memory, trauma and war. It stands out for its dialogical analysis between narrator and historian, but requires prior knowledge of Rome. Recommended for students of history, memory and research methodology.
Keywords: Oral History, interviews, and research methodology.
História oral como arte de escuta was published in 2016 and reprinted for the first time in 2021 by Letra e Voz. In the absence of a preface, we can assume that its aim is to guide reflection along three fundamental axes: the theoretical, methodological and philosophical issues relevant to working with testimonies; the forms that individual memory, of oral origin, takes in the public space; the relationship between memory and war, trauma and testimony.
Alessandro Portelli is an Italian historian and literary scholar who divides his time between Italy and the United States. He is a professor of North American literature at La Sapienza University in Rome and the author of a large body of literature, all of which focuses on understanding historical events through their expression in popular culture, which he approaches through the methodology of oral history. In Brazil, he is a reference theorist in this methodology and has published several articles as well as the book: Ensaios de história oral (2010). The book is divided into three parts: 1. “Memory and Dialogue”; 2. “The Forms of Public Memory”; and 3. “War and Memory”. Each part is divided into three chapters spread over 191 pages, as well as “Narrators”, “References” and “Bibliography: other works by Alessandro Portelli published in Brazil”.
The first part is a more theoretical and methodological discussion on the role of orality in historical research and the recovery of memory. It deals with the philosophical and methodological issues related to this practice. It is divided into three chapters: in the first, the author distinguishes between oral tradition and oral source, where it becomes clear that oral tradition is made up of verbal constructs that are formalized, transmitted, and shared, while oral sources are individual, informal narratives created in the encounter between historian and narrator in a dialogical relationship: the interview. Portelli goes on to describe in detail how he met three interviewees who shaped his career as an oral historian, noting that an “interview” refers to two people looking at each other. He reiterates that “the observer is watching us-they are usually more perceptive than we are, judging us by our body language and behaviors that we are not even aware of” (p. 15). In the third chapter, he discusses memory, stating that it is neither good nor bad: “Memory just is: we can’t decide whether we will have a memory or not, and we can only control some of its content and how it works.
In the second part, the author shows the articulation between the forms of oral memory and its public dimension, highlighting the public nature of memory. In the fourth chapter, he gives some background on the cultural and political context of Rome, the emergence of the House of Memory and History in 2006, as well as the challenges this institution faced in maintaining itself as a space of resistance to the political change in 2008, when the center-left government was replaced by a right-wing one. In the fifth chapter, Portelli comments on three protagonists who used music to bear critical witness to the condition and experience of migrants in Italy and who participated in the Circolo Gianni Bosio, an independent organization based in Rome that works with folk music, oral history, and popular culture. Chapter six brings the author’s experience of interviewing two hundred survivors of the 1944 Nazi massacre in which 335 men were executed by the Germans. In this chapter, Portelli shows how oral storytelling is renewed with each telling, as it is constantly changing, shaped by both the listener’s reaction and the teller’s mental state.
In the third part, he presents concrete examples of the work of recovering the memory of war events through oral history, highlighting the links between the testimonies and the traumas that are added to their memory. In the seventh chapter, Portelli analyzes the testimonies of the battle of Poggio Bustone (a small town in Sabina), where in 1944 the Fascists in Rieti brought deserters back into the Fascist army. Thus, the author understands the battle of Poggio Bustone as the subject of innumerable narratives that represent the event in contradictory, distorted and sometimes invented ways. But instead of dismissing them as unreliable, we must find in the distortions of the facts and in the mutual contradictions precious clues to the work of memory, imagination and interpretation. In the eighth chapter, the author suggests the existence of a “suspended time” that would be a place of transition almost forgotten by history, some accounts that are compressed or suppressed in the testimonies of people, such as the example of the period when the Jews were imprisoned in Rome, in the Military College of the Salviati Palace (p.124). Finally, in the ninth chapter, Portelli states that oral history is essentially an attempt to reconnect the local perspective, coming from below, and the scientific perspective, seen from above; to contextualize the local and allow the scientific to recognize it.
Oral history, then, brings top-down and bottom-up history together in the same text – at a negotiating table – creating an equal dialogue between the historian’s awareness of broader spatial and temporal patterns and the local narrator’s personal, more punctual narrative.
(Children) Through the lens of historian Klewerson Lima, a neighborhood in the capital of Pará tells its own story | Photo: Klewerson Lima/Estadão
As we can see, the book makes great contributions to the knowledge and practice of oral history research. However, despite the relevance of the topics covered, the lack of a preface, presentation, or introduction in the 2021 edition makes it difficult to understand the author’s motivations and the specific objectives of the book, forcing the reader to make assumptions about its purpose. In addition, the work requires the reader to have a minimal knowledge of Roman history and politics in order to properly understand the book.
Despite these shortcomings, the book has several positive attributes. First, it is a valuable contribution to the field of oral history and collective memory, in which the author demonstrates a profound mastery of oral history methodology and brings to light the importance of the dialogue between interviewer and interviewee for the construction of authentic and meaningful narratives. By emphasizing the dialogic relationship in the interview, Portelli underscores the need to listen to the voices of those often marginalized by official history. One of the book’s strengths is its ability to present specific cases and the author’s personal experiences as an oral historian. This allows the reader to emotionally connect with the narratives and understand the richness of the individual stories that make up collective memory. By describing his practice of interviewing survivors of the Nazi massacre and migrants in Italy, Portelli offers a more human perspective on the past.
The book is recommended for scholars and those interested in history, memory, and research methodology. It offers valuable insights into the complexity of individual and collective memory, as well as the importance of contextualizing local narratives within a broader historical perspective. It provides a comprehensive and inspiring insight into the construction of historical knowledge through attentive and sensitive listening to the narratives of witnesses and survivors, highlighting the relevance and richness of oral history as an art form of listening.
Summary ofHistória oral como arte de escuta
I. Memória e diálogo
1. História oral: uma relação dialógica
2. Para além da entrevista: uma autoetnografia da minha prática
3. Sobre os usos da memória: Memória — monumento, memória involuntária, memória perturbadora
II. As formas da memória pública
4. A Casa da memória e da história de Roma: políticas de memória e instituições públicas
5. “Hóspedes”: três vozes migrantes na Itália
6. Radio Clandestina: da história oral ao teatro
III. Guerra e Memória
7. A batalha de Poggio Bstone: violência, memória e imaginação na guerra partigiana
8. À beira do genocídio: os dois dias dos judeus romanos deportados no Colégio Militar da Piazza della Rovere
9. Um ônibus vermelho: vítimas inocentes de canhões libertadores
Narradores
Referências
Bibliografia compilada: outras obras de Alessandro Portelli publicadas no Brasil
Reviewers
Francielle Novaes Dourado is a Master student in the Programa de Pós-Graduação em Estudos Africanos, Povos Indígenas e Culturas Negras (PPGEAFIN/Uneb), Specialist in Collective Health with a focus on PSF (FTC), Graduate in Pedagogy from the Universidade Estadual de Feira de SAntana (UEFS) and Bachelor in Nursing from the Faculty of Faculdade de Tecnologia e Ciências (FTC). She is a lecturer at the Faculdade Irecê (FAI). ID LATTES: http://lattes.cnpq.br/5100888553534807; ID ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2931-8528; Email: franciele.dourado@faifaculdade.com.br.
To cite this review
PORTELLI, Alessandro. História oral como arte de escuta. São Paulo: Letra e Voz, 2021. 200p. Review by: DOURADO, Francielle Novaes. Exchange of Views. Crítica Historiográfica. Natal, v.4, n.16, mar./abr., 2024. Available at <https://www.criticahistoriografica.com.br/en/exchanging-glances-francielle-novaes-dourados-ppgeafin-uneb-review-of-the-book-historia-oral-como-arte-de-escuta-by-alessandro-portelli/ttps://www.criticahistoriografica.com.br/en/exchanging-glances-francielle-novaes-dourados-ppgeafin-uneb-review-of-the-book-oral-history-as-the-art-of-listening-by-alessandro-portelli/>.
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Alessandro Portelli is an Italian historian and literary scholar who divides his time between Italy and the United States. He is a professor of North American literature at La Sapienza University in Rome and the author of a large body of literature, all of which focuses on understanding historical events through their expression in popular culture, which he approaches through the methodology of oral history. In Brazil, he is a reference theorist in this methodology and has published several articles as well as the book: Ensaios de história oral (2010). The book is divided into three parts: 1. “Memory and Dialogue”; 2. “The Forms of Public Memory”; and 3. “War and Memory”. Each part is divided into three chapters spread over 191 pages, as well as “Narrators”, “References” and “Bibliography: other works by Alessandro Portelli published in Brazil”.
Francielle Novaes Dourado is a Master student in the Programa de Pós-Graduação em Estudos Africanos, Povos Indígenas e Culturas Negras (PPGEAFIN/Uneb), Specialist in Collective Health with a focus on PSF (FTC), Graduate in Pedagogy from the Universidade Estadual de Feira de SAntana (UEFS) and Bachelor in Nursing from the Faculty of Faculdade de Tecnologia e Ciências (FTC). She is a lecturer at the Faculdade Irecê (FAI). ID LATTES: http://lattes.cnpq.br/5100888553534807; ID ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2931-8528; Email: franciele.dourado@faifaculdade.com.br.
