Can we believe the stories about Biko? Oral sources, meaning, and emotion in South African struggle history

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Periodical article

Title:	Can we believe the stories about Biko? Oral sources, meaning, and emotion in South African struggle history
Author:	Hadfield, Leslie Anne
Year:	2015
Periodical:	History in Africa (ISSN 1558-2744)
Volume:	42
Pages:	239-263
Language:	English
Geographic term:	South Africa
Subjects:	oral history biography black consciousness historiography
About person:	Stephen Bantu Biko (1946-1977)
External link:	https://doi.org/10.1017/hia.2015.24
Abstract:	This article explores the use of oral sources in constructing South Africa's Black Consciousness movement history, including the difficulties in dealing with oral histories dominated by the figure of Steve Biko. It argues that despite its limitations, historians can use oral history to effectively pursue both the actual past and the contemporary meaning of oral history in a balanced way. It further argues that in doing so, historians should respectfully, yet critically incorporate emotions expressed in these interviews into their analyses to provide a richer and more accurate history in English and French. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract]