Practicing Oral History in China: Methods, Ethics, Trust-Building - Incite at Columbia University

How do China’s social and cultural contexts shape oral history methods, ethics, consent practices, and trust-building?

As the founder of one of China’s largest oral history centers—where more than 800,000 minutes of oral history interviews have been conducted and archived—Mr. Cui Yongyuan will trace his journey from journalist and television host to oral historian, as well as his efforts to bring his entire team into the field of oral history over the past two decades. He will introduce the center’s major oral history projects and its archival practices.

Most importantly, he will discuss in detail how China’s unique social and cultural contexts have shaped their oral history methodologies. He will reflect on how interviews are conducted ethically in situations where narrators may face potential risks, how informed consent is negotiated, and how deep trust is built throughout the interview process. He will also address the broader challenges the team has encountered in practicing oral history in China.

Note: This event will be offered bilingually in English and Chinese, with live interpretation. It is part of an ongoing event series promoting connection between Chinese and US-based oral historians, co-sponsored by Columbia Oral History and the Cui Yongyuan Center for Oral history and curated by Amy Starecheski and Xiaoyan Li