Oral history, family history: theoretic-methodological perspectives in communication research

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the contribution of the oral history method in the development of the family history technique. The first part deals with qualitative research in communication studies, approaching basic notions to better understand theoretic-methodological aspects in the choice of the research procedures. In the second part we delineate conceptual notions of family history, how to apply the technique and its contribution to the methodological discussion. Among the main results, we have verified that the technique enables: connections between generations established through family memory; the comprehension of the family group from a singular contextualized specific mediated history, without neglecting broader issues that must be explicated in their sociological aspects; a diverse sample given the variety of subjects profiles and the heterogeneity of family configuration, which amplifies and propitiates greater complexity to the observed phenomena.