22nd NATIONAL ORAL HISTORY CONFERENCE - CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

22nd NATIONAL ORAL HISTORY CONFERENCE

Host: Limpopo Department of Sport, Arts, And Culture

Venue: To Be Confirmed  

 Date: 6 October (Training) & 7 To 10 October 2025 (Conference) 

THEME: Oral history, (un)told stories and (living) archives:  pursuance of relentless struggles for human dignity

ABSTRACTS DUE: 5 May 2025 and to be sent to:

‪Ms Calda de Vries, Secretary: OHASA at ohasalimpopo2025@gmail.com

In South Africa where oral history has now come of age, theorising about issues of orality is no longer confined to the academy and scholarly publications, but community-based oral history practitioners have also embraced this methodology, which has empowered some to produce popular publications. Most importantly, oral history now forms an important component of the school history curriculum. One of the major challenges that still needs to be confronted, however, is how to channel the oral history materials collected through interviews into the archives where they can be made publicly accessible and thus help decolonise the historiography.

Since its inception more than 22 years ago, OHASA has sought to make available its resources, both human and financial, to create a safe space for individuals and groups with expertise in the field to share their knowledge with others. Despite the over two decades of OHASA’s existence, thousands of stories remain untold and unrecorded in many regions of South Africa and the entire southern African region. There are people we can safely refer to as living archives because they have kept their stories and experiences to themselves, thereby short-changing those who may benefit from their testimonies or oral narratives.

Millions of people in South Africa across the racial and gender divide have had to fight for recognition as human beings. While the colonial/apartheid government allocated resources based on race, privileging whites over blacks, and men over women, a tiny stratum of white citizens rejected their white privilege and threw in their lot with the oppressed black majority in a myriad of activities that sought to restore human dignity or ubuntu.  At the same time, a small section of the black elites chose the path of collaboration and complicity with the apartheid regime as Bantustan administrators, submissive chiefs, etc. As oral historians with an insatiable curiosity, it will be informative to listen and write more nuanced stories where the oppressors and victims are found on the other side.  Are there whites who had, through the years, relentlessly pursued the struggle for human dignity, albeit in small unknown corners?  Are there women who have stood up against human indignity in seldom mentioned places of this country?

For this 22nd National Oral History Conference, OHASA invites scholars and practitioners of oral history to submit abstracts of original research papers that speak to the theme of “Oral History, (un)told stories and ‘living’ archives: Pursuance of relentless struggles for human dignity.” The papers must be based on oral history, and where oral interviews have been conducted as primary source, we encourage presenters to consider donating transcripts of the interviews and/or interview recordings to the OHASA portal.

ABSTRACTS ARE INVITED FOR CONSIDERATION, IN ANY OF THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGES OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA, ADDRESSING THE MAIN THEME UNDER THE FOLLOWING SUB-THEMES:

1. Oral histories as vehicle for cultural preservation and social transformation.
2. Cultural identity and the preservation of indigenous narratives.
3. Oral history and the liberation struggle at home and/or in exile.
4. Oral history and healing in post-apartheid South Africa.
5. Oral history, technology, innovation and digital archiving.
6. Oral history in the classroom.
7. Women’s voices: Amplifying marginalised narratives.
8. Memory, Land and Identity in Towns and the Countryside.
9. Ethics in oral history practices.
10. Oral histories of the struggles for dignity in the African Diaspora.
11. Oral histories of survival in informal urban settlements.
12. Oral history and preservation of indigenous African languages.
13. Oral history and contestations over heritage sites.
14. Oral history, traditional leadership and succession disputes.
15. Oral history and land reform.
16. Oral history, youth politics and classroom struggles in the Bantustans.

The envisaged end-product of the conference will a publication of the Conference Proceedings. Interested contributors are encouraged to submit completed manuscripts for publication. The papers shall not be longer than 5000 words.

How to submit:

Interested parties should forward a short proposal, on the form attached as an Annexure, including:

1. an abstract of your paper or case study report (200-300 words).
2. the relevant conference sub theme
3. a short biography of yourself (50-100 words)
4. your contact information (name and surname, affiliation, postal address, e-mail address, phone and fax numbers)

The duration of presentations will not exceed twenty (20) minutes, and this will be followed by ten (10) minutes for discussion

Deadline for abstracts: 5 May 2025  

Confirmation of acceptance or rejection of your abstract will be communicated by 30 June 2025

Send abstracts to: Ms ‪Calda de Vries, Secretary: OHASA at ohasalimpopo2025@gmail.com

Annexure

TEMPLATE FOR ABSTRACT