Testimonies of the City: Identity, Community and Change in a Contemporary Urban World

Oral testimony is one of the most valuable but challenging sources for the study of modern history, providing access to knowledge and experience unavailable to historians of earlier periods. In this groundbreaking collection, oral testimonies are used to explore themes relating to the construction of urban memories in European cities during the twentieth century. From the daily experiences of city life, to personal and communal responses to urban change and regeneration, to migration and the construction of ethnic identities, oral history is employed to enrich our understanding of urban history. It offers insights and perspectives that both enhance existing approaches and forces us to re-examine official histories based on more traditional sources of documentation. Moreover, it enables the historian to understand something of the nature of memory itself, and how people construct their own versions of the urban experience to try to make sense of the past. By using the full range of opportunities offered by oral history, as well as fully considering the related methodological issues of interpretation, this volume provides a fascinating insight into one of the least explored areas of urban history. As well as adding to our understanding of the European urban experience, it highlights the potential of this intersection of oral and urban history. Contents: Frameworks: testimony, representation and interpretation, Joanna Herbert and Richard Rodger. Part 1 Social Identities: Narratives from the urban workplace: oral testimonies and the reconstruction of men's work in the heavy industries of Glasgow, Ronnie Johnston and Arthur McIvor; The cultural identity of semi-skilled women workers in socialist Hungary, Eszter Zsófia Tóth; Myths of the Great-Tree-Gang: constructing urban spaces and youth culture in socialist Budapest, Sándor Horváth. Part 2 Community, Neighbourhood and Daily Life: Meanings of the city: Zagreb's new housing communities since the 1950s, Valentina Gulin Zrnic; Unfolding urban memories and ethnic identities: narratives of ethnic diversity in the Limburg mining towns, Belgium, since 1950, Leen Beyers; Rhythms, rituals and routines in inter-war Paris: a sensitive experience of urban history, Caroline Varlet. Part 3 Responses to Urban Change: Understanding the urban past: the transformation of Bucharest in the late socialist period, Maria Raluca Popa; Resurrecting narratives: revitalization, ruins and modern cemeteries in the Brás district, São Paulo City since 1970, Verônica Sales Pereira; Uncommon threads: oral history, historical narrative and public art in Los Angeles, Ruth Wallach. Part 4 Migration and Methods: Migrant voices in the contemporary history of Vienna: the case of ex-Yugoslavs, Wladimir Fischer; Negotiating boundaries and the cross-cultural interview, Joanna Herbert. Index. About the Author: Richard Rodger is Professor of Urban History and Director of the East Midlands Oral History Archive at the University of Leicester, UK. Joanna Herbert is Research Fellow in the Department of Geography, Queen Mary, University of London, UK.