‘Alternative voices in post-conflict societies: Using oral history to disrupt binary narratives’

This panel is about how oral history can delve beyond the binary narratives that prevail in post-conflict societies. Using the case study of Northern Ireland, it demonstrates the importance of foregrounding everyday lived experiences to complicate dominant social and political narratives. The academic literature regarding Northern Ireland has been shaped by themes of violence, division and political rancour with the role of intersectionality being overlooked. This has been reinforced by the state and their commemoration of conflict through the heritage landscape, which has led to a disconnect between local communities and the heritage being presented within Northern Ireland. However, post-conflict societies also face more universal struggles surrounding issues such as class, gender and race. In places such as Northern Ireland, the legacy of conflict and societal division often masks these additional social issues. The panel therefore demonstrates the methodological importance of oral history in post-conflict societies, showcasing how everyday voices can disrupt dominant, oppositional narratives.