“Ethical Turn” in Polish Oral History
Article by Jakub Gałęziowski
Having been highly inspired by the ethical approach that the CHIBOW Network manifested in a detailed review of ethical processes and specialised trainings addressed especially to researchers representing social sciences and humanities, Jakub Gałęziowski presented what he had learned at the annual meeting of Polish Oral History Association (POHA) in Warsaw, in October 2016. This was a breaking point for Polish oral history as far as the reflection on ethics in oral historian’s craft is concerned. This meeting has opened discussions among Polish scholars and practitioners.
The first step for Jakub was to write an article for the oral history yearbook together with his colleague Joanna Urbanek, who is an historian and psychologists. The substantial part of this text has been based on Jakub's experiences as a member of the CHIBOW Network, supported by a psychological perspective.
Article: Gałęziowski, Jakub; Urbanek, Joanna. „The ethical turn” in Polish oral history. Wrocław Yearbook of Oral History, [S.l.], v. 7, p. 7-34, mar. 2018. ISSN 2084-0578. Available at: <https://wrhm.pl/index.php/wrhm/article/view/165>. Date accessed: 22 aug. 2018. doi: https://doi.org/10.26774/wrhm.165).
A roundtable among oral historians representing various disciplines and traditions was then organised again in Warsaw in January 2018. Different regulations and codes of conduct already used by the biggest oral history associations were analysed in a way to adapt some regulations to Polish reality. This meeting prepared the ground for a smaller team to work on a document on ethical recommendations for Polish oral historians. This document has been adopted by the Association at the annual meeting in Lublin, in May 2018 and is available online at http://pthm.pl/etyka/
Ethics will be one of the crucial topics of the next international oral history conference (Oral History in Action, Cracow, 28-30 March 2019) organised by the POHA. You can find more information on this conference on the POHA website.