Oral History of Science: A Mushrooming Cloud?

Abstract

The story of twentieth-century fills a significant space in the time capsules that historians are creating for the future. During the past twenty-five years several major projects devoted to preserving the records and recollections of scientists have amassed an imposing array of historical source materials that are already being used extensively. More than two thousand interviews are now deposited in institutions in the United States, and by the year 2000 the number of available oral histories of will have grown greatly. That mushrooming growth, like the fateful symbol of mid-twentieth-century nuclear physics, holds both promise and perils. Whose story will the oral histories tell? What historical issues can be pursued in the collections being created? What is missing, and what can be done to fill in the gaps? The answers to those questions depend on who packs the time capsule and when the packing starts and stops, as well as on who opens the capsule and when. Why use oral history to document the role of scientists in twentieth-century culture? After all, unlike many other groups in society, scientists seem to have an audible voice, and they have not lacked access to power or influence. They are visible and funded, and some are famous. Furthermore, they leave an impressive paper trail. The end products of their work are generally presented in journals and books, although in a depersonalized and compressed manner, as if to cover up tracks. The public record also includes testimony and speeches, and published autobiographies of some scientists are readily available. Especially interesting for historians is the private dimension, and here the record is relatively rich. Scientists often record some of their thought processes, their personal and institutional relationships, and their responses to events in notebooks, letters, and diaries, which increasingly have been collected, cataloged, microfilmed, and in several cases published. Is there, then, any need for oral histories of and scientists? What else is worth knowing about scientists? We can probe for scientists' recollections of their roles and relationships in particular events and settings, as well as their perceptions and responses to people and issues we currently regard as historically significant. We can also learn how they practice their craft, how, why, for whom and for what rewards they work, and how they feel about it. In short, oral history can help us learn more about what it means to do science than is revealed in the public or private written record.