2010/03/25: Testimonies: Reliability, Methodology, and Theory

March 25, 2010: Since the Institute’s testimonies were given around 50 years after the events described, researchers must confront issues of memory and reliability. In this session moderated by Andrea Pető (Associate Professor, Gender Studies, Central European University), Robert Rozett, (Director of Yad Vashem Libraries) addresses problems that revolve around memory and reliability. He asks whether testimonies and memoirs bring us closer than other kinds of historical documents to understanding what people went through. Wolf Gruner (Shapell-Guerin Chair in Jewish Studies and Professor of History, University of Southern California) addresses the question of whether video testimonies require a different methodological approach than other primary sources and whether testimonies can be used as primary sources on their own? Michael Renov (Associate Dean, Academic Affairs and Professor of Cinematic Arts, University of Southern California) speaks about current theories relating specifically to studying testimony and what new critical approaches are most profitable for studying video testimonies.

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