Pour une historie orale de la lecture:pratiques de lecture en Australie, 1890-1930

Abstract

This article reviews an oral history project on Australian reading practices carried out by the author, in collaboration with Lucy Taksa. Possibly the first of its kind, the project was based on interviews with 61 elderly informants from the Sydney region. Practical research methods and problems of evidence are discussed. The article defends the value of oral history testimony for the study of memory and self-representation as objects of Investigation in their own right. Two findings are briefly emphasised: the tendency of women to devalue they own literary culture, and the persistence of traditional reading practices similar to those identified elsewhere by David Hall and Roll Engelsing.