Oral History and Social Movements Studies. Activists’ Narratives for an Interpretation of the Canarian Environmental Movement’s Impacts

Abstract

Oral history is becoming an increasingly important component of the set of research tools that social movements studies can use. This methodology allows to access narrative details, political reflections or individualized memories throughout a life, which could never be accessed using the most common research methods in history or the sociology of social movements.

Oral History gives the opportunity to observe how many of the narratives are similar private stories that together make up public histories, and therefore, collective identities, which are essential to understand the origin, evolution and impacts of a social movement.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: firstly, highlighting the relevance of Oral History in the social movements studies; and secondly, presenting a study case that, starting from oral narratives, analyzes the experiences and visions of environmental activists in relation to the configuration, evolution and impact of the Canarian environmental movement.