A Critical Analysis of the Representation of Oral History's Capacities in University Theses (1978-2025)

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Assistant Professor, Department of Archeology and History, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Neyshabur, Iran

10.30484/ganj.2025.3289

Abstract

Purpose: The present study aims to conduct a systematic critical analysis of the structural and content-related aspects in university theses in the field of oral history, covering the period from after the Islamic Revolution until now. Subsequently, it focuses on identifying thematic and methodological challenges, temporal dispersion, academic levels, specializations, and production centers, as well as explaining their impact on the quality and credibility of academic research based on oral history.
 
Method and Research Design: Conducted using a critical approach and a descriptive-analytical method, this study relies on reputable thesis indexing databases and a mixed-methods data analysis. 
 
Findings and Conclusion:  The results indicate numerous challenges. Thematically, an unbalanced focus on border regions and the dominance of a revolutionary-defensive discourse have led to the marginalization of social, economic, and cultural dimensions. Methodologically, there is a fundamental weakness in applying theoretical frameworks and a predominance of descriptive models. A lack of thematic innovation and vagueness in selecting titles, along with a noticeable absence of interdisciplinary areas, are other identified issues. Structural analysis reveals a deep gap between academic levels (with a quantitative dominance of Master's theses) and a lack of cross-level research continuity, leading to methodological and theoretical superficiality. Chronologically, after an initial stagnation, theses experienced excessive growth and eventually reached a stability based on saturation; this approach has resulted in a quantitative-driven mass production of research lacking the capacity to develop the science of history. The unbalanced concentration in the geographical distribution of thesis production centers and the consequent creation of serious gaps in recording the lived experiences of people from various regions are other alarming findings of this study.
It is ultimately concluded that oral history within the Iranian academic sphere has not yet been able to utilize its full potential for producing authentic and balanced knowledge. It requires a serious revision in research policies, methodical training, and the development of theoretical and executive infrastructures.

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English Translation of References
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