Why is fieldwork important to the study of oral history?
Oral history, an approach in historical studies that incorporates personal memories, opinions and narratives of eye-witnesses of historical events, is an excellent method to apply when we are to study how the local culture, religions, and lifestyles developed in Chinese villages. The process of oral history research makes fieldwork an important factor. Learning the methodology, perspectives and findings of oral history is quite different from being able to carry out such research on one’s own. Unlike the traditional method of archival research which Harvard undergraduates can learn, practice and probably master in libraries as they take classes at Harvard, this oral history research method is hard to apply—and thus impossible to master—unless you participate in fieldwork projects. Why is fieldwork important to the study of village planning? In addition, in the process of doing oral history fieldwork, you could also participate in a case of village planning. Village planning, a branch o
