Memory of a Bygone Era: Oral History in Quebec, 1979-1986.

This research note analyzes a Quebec-based oral history contest, 'Memory of a Bygone Era,' which collected nearly a thousand recordings in the 1980s. By returning to this impressive initiative, the co-authors aim to shed light not only on the particular understanding of the emergence of oral history in Quebec, but also on the social context that gave meaning and relevance to what was being 'heard.' After describing the creation and operation of the contest, the different factors that led its organizers to support an endeavour that, in its size and ambition, has never been reproduced in Quebec, are analyzed. Vulgar Marxism, counter-cultural trends, Christian ideology, and nationalism all combined to justify and support the collection of an astonishing number of oral biographies that told the story of Quebec's past from the perspective of ordinary citizens. The attempt to give the voiceless a voice was not, therefore, without ideological implications and may help to explain both the initial success of the contest and the reasons that practically no one remembers this extraordinary initiative today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]