Oral history as a tool for recording intangible cultural heritage. Archaeologist Despina Evgenidou presents how video interviews capture people's stories and keep alive the memory of places and times.

PRESENTATION OF THE UNDERGRADUATE STUDY PROGRAM of the Department of History, Archaeology & Cultural Properties Management UNIVERSITY OF THE PELOPONNESE

Master class

Oral History: A Personal History for Everyone?

What is the relationship between a traditional settlement of Pelion, an isolated community of Laconia, professionals and cotton growers in Veria, old and new residents of the castle of Monemvasia? Their stories have been recorded on camera.

These video interviews are a powerful tool for documenting and preserving intangible cultural heritage. People's narratives, traditions and memories are accurately captured and passed on to future generations. Oral history is a relatively recent approach that quickly developed and spread in Greece.

Collecting oral testimonies records lived experiences and adds to our knowledge of specific subjects, places, events, historical periods, customs and traditions. Anthropologists, ethnologists, and sociologists have used interviews since early times to record and study various communities and groups. Since 1990, it has been accepted that oral accounts not only supplement written history, but their subjectivity reconstructs the climate of the time and reveals lived history.

Despina Evgenidou, archaeologist

A two-hour presentation and familiarization with these topics.