Słuchać, poszukiwać, rozumieć. Nie tylko o dialogu interdyscyplinarnym i oral history
Listen, search, understand. Not only about interdisciplinary dialogue and oral history

Summary/Abstract: The author, from the perspective of a contemporary history researcher,indicates the potential common foundations, but also the differences in using the oral history method in an interdisciplinary perspective. Based on practical experience, he concludes that the assumptions of oral history and other disciplines for which research material is a conversation, are very similar. The difference between the particular fields lies in each one’s specific methods. This article is a reflection on certain current oral history problems. The author’s starting point is the current situation, where on the one hand there is an increasing interest in oral history, because of a human need for stories, but on the other hand, people are losing their ability to tell stories or listen to them intently more and more every day. On this occasion, he introduces the issue of the speed of life in today’s times,striving for simplicity and conciseness in the context of a narrative relationship. The author continues to deal with some methodological issues that have not been given special attention to in the past. This is particularly true about the problem of subjectivity, memoryand its role in the construction of biographical narratives, and the issue of social and political context (both past and present) in which interviews are carried out. In the end, the author indicates how the study of oral history helps to learn and understand not only the past but also the present. In fact, this is the great strength of this method ,in this aspect it is an inspiration for researchers in other fields of social sciences, for which conversation is the basic source.

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