The Role of Oral History in the Historiography of Heterodox Economics

This essay addresses the problem of how life histories can be used to write the history of heterodox economics as a history of communities of scholars. The authors' contention is that social relationships are not easily discerned from the professional writings of scholars. Instead, it is suggested that the sites for this evidence are a variety of dispersed personal media, locked away in private correspondence or in the unspoken memories of participants. Through a life narrative, be it conveyed in an interview, autobiography or oral history, one can study an individual's sense of self and location in society. The narrative selects and organizes the events and meanings that bound an individual to a community.