Os fluxos migratórios, num contexto de globalização, é um fenômeno da contemporaneidade e entendê-lo, a partir da memória e da história de vida dos sujeitos que viveram e vivem esse processo, é permitir a escrita de uma história que ainda não está registrada. O presente trabalho é o resultado da pesquisa sobre o deslocamento de imigrantes angolanos para a cidade de São Paulo, ocorrido nas primeiras décadas do século XXI. Por meio da História Oral, registramos histórias de vida desses sujeitos para compreender como experimentaram a vivência de sair de seu país, a chegada ao Brasil, os dilemas de pertencimento na sociedade de destino, a reconfiguração e ressignificação dos espaços e das relações cotidianas nesse novo contexto. / The migration, in the context of globalization, is a phenomenon of contemporaneity and understand it from the memory and history of life of individuals, who have lived and live this process is to allow writing a story that is not yet registered. This work is the result of research on the displacement of Angolan immigrants to the city of São Paulo, which occurred in the first decades of the twenty-first century. Through oral history, we recorded the life histories of these subjects to understand how they experience the leaving their country, the arrival in Brazil, the dilemmas of belonging in the society of destination, reconfiguration and redefinition of spaces and everyday relations in this new context.

O presente trabalho apresenta um estudo da cultura ídiche através do cantar e do seu significado para os imigrantes e descendentes dessa vertente cultural no Brasil. O cantar ídiche foi um dos elos que esses indivíduos mantiveram com suas raízes. Esses vínculos foram investigados através de entrevistas e relatos de suas memórias. O objetivo desta tese foi retratar o passado vivo de um grupo cultural que sempre cultivou formas de expressão musical no seu cotidiano e seu significado. O resultado do trabalho propõe uma reflexão sobre a importância do cantar na preservação dessa cultura musical e sobre questões relativas à identidade judaica brasileira. Os gêneros musicais ídiches acalentam a saudade velada e simbólica que os imigrantes e seus descendentes sentem do território evocativo do ídiche. O cancioneiro ídiche traz, no plano coletivo e individual, uma herança apreciada de forma universal e crescente, por diversas esferas culturais. / This work presents both a study about the Yiddish culture through singing and its meaning to the Jewish immigrants and their cultural descendants in Brazil. Yiddish singing has been one of the common bonds these individuals chose to stick to their roots; bonds which have been investigated through interviews and also by listening to peoples memories. The aim of this thesis is to portray the memorable past of a cultural group that has kept ways of musical expression in their daily lives. The results of this work poses both a reflection on the importance of singing to keep this musical culture and also on matters related to the Jewish- Brazilian identity. Yiddish musical genres nourish a veiled and symbolic nostalgia these immigrants descendants have of their Yiddish evocative territory. Moreover, Yiddish songs carry individual and collective cultural heritage which is increasingly appreciated worldwide.

The oral folk history of William Bernard "Big Six" Henderson is unique in that Henderson himself has been a contributing factor in keeping the tales of his moonshining experiences in the oral traditions of distinct areas of Kentucky, especially Cumberland County. Interviewing Henderson and apprehended and non-apprehended moonshiners allowed speculation into the concept that Henderson was indeed a folk hero. Using Dixon Wector's requirements for heroes, the hero performing unselfish service, acquiring a nickname, obtaining sympathy for handicaps, struggles, and failures, and reaching hero status after death, and providing examples of Henderson's encounters with moonshiners, verifies Henderson's hero status, except Henderson is a hero prior to his death. Mody Boatright's additional characteristics of combat with individuals, boasting, a pride in weapons, women, and animals, a remarkable birth, and becoming a hero after a tragic and supernatural death gives concrete support for Henderson being raised to the level of folk hero. Again, Henderson qualifies as a folk hero, disregarding his future demise. This paper is divided into the following parts: (1) an introduction which gives reasons for a study of this type; (2) the background and careers of Henderson; (3) the tales involving Henderson and various Moonshiners; (4) Henderson's status as a folk hero; (5) conclusions and suggestions for future studies of this nature; and (6) a brief sketch of the informants.

This feminist oral history project records, interprets, and analyzes the educational experiences of seven Ismaili college women in Chitral, Pakistan. Chitral is a part of the world where educating girls and women is not a priority. Yet in the scarce literature available one can observe an increase in the literacy rates, especially amongst the Ismaili Muslims in the North of Chitral District. This thesis introduces students' accounts of their personal educational journeys. I argue that the students' accounts exemplify third space feminism. They negotiate contradictions and social invisibility in their daily lives in quiet activism that shadows but changes the status quo of the society. Through their narratives the narrators see themselves as devout Muslim women who are receiving Western-style education through which they have learned to be women's rights advocates. The narrators now wish to pay forward their knowledge and help their families financially. Analysis of the oral histories revealed six themes: (1) distance from educational institutions, (2) sacrifices by the family, (3) support from family, (4) narrators as the first generation of women to attend school, (5) early memories of school including severe winters and corporal punishment, and (6) feminist touchstones. While honoring their families and communities, the narrators plan to become educators and advocates to empower girls and women in their own villages. In response to these oral histories, I recommend that the government of Pakistan, non-government organizations working in Pakistan, men and women, and teachers in schools work together to improve the educational journeys of future Chitrali women. Education for women needs to be introduced as a universal human right in Chitral so women, too, can get financial and psychosocial support from their families as well as communities to achieve their educational goals.

Despite the considerable significance of publicly funded education in the making of Australian society, state school histories are few in number. In comparison, most corporate and private schools have cemented their sense of community and tradition through full-length publications. This history attempts to redress this imbalance. It is an important social history because this school, Mac.Robertson Girls' High School can trace its origins back to 1905, to the very beginnings of state secondary education when the Melbourne Continuation School (MCS), later Melbourne High School (MHS) and Melbourne Girls' high School (MGHS) was established. Since it is now recognised that there are substantial state, regional and other differences between schools and their local communities, studies of individual schools are needed to underpin more general overviews of particular issues. This history, then, has wider significance: it traces strands of the development of girls' education in Victoria, thus examining the significance and dynamics of single-sex schooling, the education of girls more generally, and, importantly, girls' own experiences (and memories of experiences) of secondary schooling, as well as the meaning they made of those experiences. 'Girls, Education and Empowerment: A History of The Mac.Robertson Girls' High School 1905-2005', departs from traditional models of school history writing that tend to focus on the decision-makers and bureaucrats in education as well as documenting the most 'successful' former students who have made their mark in the world. Drawing on numerous narrative sources and documentary evidence, this history is organised thematically to contextualise and examine what is was like, and meant, to be a girl at this school (Melbourne Continuation School 1905-12; Melbourne High School 1912-27; Melbourne Girls' High School 1927-34, and Mac.Robertson Girls' High School from 1934) during a century of immense social, economic, political and educational change.

The focus of this thesis is the lived experience of 80 Australian gay men in the second half of the twentieth century. The oldest man in the sample was born in 1922 and the youngest in 1980. Their understanding of what it was to be gay is historically contingent, for their lives spanned the greater part of the twentieth century: from when homosexuality was illegal through the less repressive but no less problematic eras of gay liberation and the HIV-AIDS epidemic. Qualitative in approach, the thesis was based on oral history interviews. Interviewees were asked set questions about their social, affective and sexual lives. The sample comprised an old cohort of 22 men, a middle cohort of 30 men, and a young cohort of 28 men. The majority of interviewees were of Anglo-Saxon or Anglo-Celtic decent. The exceptions were Aboriginal men, and the children of migrants to Australia from South-east Asia and Southern Europe. Interviewees' personal narratives included their experiences of the repression of the Cold War period, the exuberance, and, for some, personal confusion of gay liberation and the disco culture of the 1970s, and the trauma of the HIV-AIDS epidemic. Through their life stories, the men in this sample illustrated the significant shifts in sexual attitudes and culture that Australia experienced in the latter part of the twentieth century. Aspects of the lives examined included the men's experience of coming out and development of their sexual identity, their social and affective lives, and their involvement in the gay 'scene' and gay community.

The intersection of homosexuality and faith values, a very controversial topic in the United States, has generated both social accommodation as well as “culture war.” In the past forty years this nation has witnessed the establishment of predominantly gay congregations, gay “welcoming” and “affirming” mainstream congregations, as well as virulently anti-gay religious organizations. This study investigates the origins and evolving history of gay and gay-affirming religious traditions in America with an emphasis on Atlanta and Georgia. Primarily an oral history, this project draws from eighty-two interviews as well as primary and secondary documents to construct this history. Several conclusions unfold: 1) Southern culture, though uniquely religious, has been more accommodating of gays and lesbians than heretofore appreciated; 2) citizens of Atlanta and the state of Georgia have been primary historical producers of gay and gay-affirming religious culture and institutions in America; 3) gay religious history pre-dates the Stonewall Rebellion, thus troubling and adding nuance to the traditional metanarrative of LGBTQ history; and 4) the paths of and to gay-affirming religious activism and institution building follows several distinct patterns.

Very little has been written on the lives of Methodist ministers in Southern Africa. Even less has been written about ministers using oral history as the primary source of information. This paper will seek to capture the stories of some Methodist ministers and then to reflect on their experiences of ministering in the late twentieth century. In order to maintain focus this paper will hone in on the clergy who were ordained in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa between 1980 and 1999. A considerable portion of the initial analysis has been taken from personal interviews with the ministers, focusing mainly on what they have encountered in their ministries. Most of the interviewees are currently serving in the Natal West District, however further valuable feedback has been received from ministers living in other communities around Southern Africa. These thoughts and comments were gathered by means of a questionnaire. This research is further complemented with information gathered by means of a database. This database deals exclusively with all ministers ordained between 1980 and 1999. Making use of simple statistics and comparative figures, a number of results will be reflected upon. This paper will also examine what impact ministerial training has had on the formation of the ministers, as well as their thoughts on further training. Chapters on the burdens of being in the ministry, the effect of politics on the clergy, understanding the reasons for ministers leaving the church and the impact of clergy moving into other forms of ministry have been included. The negative aspects of ministry have been countered by considering the number of blessings of being called into the ministry. This paper will also reflect on what lessons can be learnt from these clergy in order to leave a legacy for future generations of ministers. The ultimate aim of this paper is to give voice to the stories of men and women who have been called to serve God, through the Methodist Church of Southern Africa. It is hoped that the readers of this paper will dignify the oral histories of these ministers and will indeed find them challenging, refreshing, insightful and powerful. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

In 1998 I conducted a series of interviews with Zimbabweans who recounted, often using English, their memories of Albert Sumbo-Ncube. From these I have selected and transcribed five interviews with ZIPRA ex-combatants in which they tell the story, as they remember and elaborate on their memories, of Sumbo's escape from Rhodesian police custody at the Victoria Falls in 1977 during the Zimbabwean liberation struggle. The interviews represent Sumbo as a hero and reveal the folk hero creation process at work. This hero figure was created by people who needed an effective figure of oppositional propaganda and who did not have access to the technology and resources of the Rhodesian government. Their narratives were communicated orally and they fused material found in the Rhodesian government-controlled newspapers with an amaNdebele oral tradition. I shall draw on Hobsbawm's (1972) notions of the social bandit and Robens's (1989) study of the folk hero creation amongst post-slavery African-Americans in order to understand the ZIPRA guerrillas' hero creation. The Sumbo folk hero creation served to promote an ideal self for the Zimbabwean guerrillas and their recruits. Sumbo's daring and his ability successfully to defy authority evoked admiration amongst the guerrillas in the 1970s, and in 1998 revives for them the idealism of the struggle. In Zimbabwe the 'hero' has become a contested category, because of the government's will to control the historical representation of the liberation struggle by promoting an official history with official categories of heroes. Working with Barber's notion of popular African arts (1987 and 1997), I argue that a folk hero can be redefined as a 'popular hero' when created by a proletariat and expressed by means of a popular art form. The interviewees use a specific form, the oral historical narrative, to preserve and transmit the Sumbo hero figure. I argue that though this oral historical narrative is less fixed in form and occasion than praise poetry, songs and genealogies, it nevertheless possesses identifiable and recurrent characteristics and I have established a number of criteria for identifying oral historical narrative as a genre. In order to avoid taking a generalised and essentialising approach to the notion of 'African culture', I have drawn on theory that is as specific as possible to the understanding of oral historical narratives within the context of siNdebele speakers in Zimbabwe. I have drawn on research published by Hofmeyr (1993) and Scheub (1975) because they focused on Nguni-speaking societies. Their research is further supported by my own research conducted in the rural area of Tsholotsho in Zimbabwe. The analysis of the oral historical narrative genre used by the interviewees demonstrates that significant formal and performance skills occur in this type of narrative which takes place within apparently informal conversations. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.

Sex and sexuality are embodied experiences that are highly constructed by society. Sexual acts are subject to varied historical meanings, both dominant and subversive, which change over time and space. This dissertation explores how embodied heterosexual married sexual experiences were constructed for, and by, women in the immediate postwar era (1946-1966) and how that sexuality interacted with related social paradigms such as gender roles, motherhood, and femininity within English Canada. Using the body as a lens, this dissertation explores how three main sites of authoritative discourse attempted to police postwar sexual bodies through the creation of ideal, or Leviathan, bodies and associated systems of encoded knowledges and mores called “body politics.” The first case study examines the medicalized body, using the Canadian Medical Association Journal demonstrating how mothers were constructed as the keystones of their families; it reveals the intimate ties between familial gender and sexual role deviance and reproductive illnesses in women’s bodies. The second case study examines how the Anglican, United and Roman Catholic Churches reframed sex as sacramental for English Canadian married couples encouraging them to engage in sexual coitus to both strengthen their marriages and renew their spiritual connection to God. The third case study uses I Love Lucy to interrogate how mass media created and reflected postwar sexual and gender norms while simultaneously subverting them, generating a carnivalesque situation of tightly contained deviance. This dissertation then moves on to examine how the discourses of the previous three chapters affected actual women as demonstrated by a series of eighteen interviews with women who married between 1939 and 1966. The oral histories establish that actual corporeal bodies were at best distorted, or “fun house,” mirrors that only ever reflected imperfect copies of the ideal bodies they were supposed to emulate. In addition to making significant contributions to the historiographies of each of the case studies contained therein, this dissertation adds new knowledges about the ways that “normal” bodies work throughout history, creating simultaneous continuity and change, as well as how sexuality and gender norms are intimately connected within the realm of the body.