Researcher Profiles

Dr. Alexander Freund

Associate Professor of History, Chair in German-Canadian Studies, Co-director, Oral History Centre

Can you share a brief description of your current research?

I study the history of migration in the 20th century with a particular interest in refugees’ experiences, their memories of home, displacement, and integration.

Information available in the archival sources historians traditionally use is scarce, such as government records or statistics. In order to make up for this lack of information about migrants’ perceptions and experiences, I have been interviewing immigrants and refugees in Canada and the United States since 1993.

Currently, I am undertaking a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada -funded study of the history of refugees in Manitoba since 1945. At the same time, I have been developing and running the Oral History Centre, with my colleague, Dr. Nolan Reilly.

We recently partnered with Lorena Fontaine from UWinnipeg’s Indigenous Studies on a new project focusing on Aboriginal men and women whose parents survived the Indian Residential School system as we collectively learn about the impact of their parents’ experiences and how it reverberates in their own lives and affects Canadian society as a whole. Together we will create digital video stories and extensive life histories. This project is funded by the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.

In what ways could this research affect the average person?

Oral history democratizes history. It does so in two ways. First, it makes history more inclusive. Currently, we know only very little about the experiences of Hungarian, Salvadoran, or Somali refugees in Manitoba. Collecting their stories allows us, for example, to write them into the history books that students in the K-12 school system read. In ten years, perhaps, Salvadoran-Canadian children will be able to read stories about their own parents or grandparents.

Second, oral history makes history more democratic. This breaks down the barrier between the ivory tower and the community. For example, the Salvadoran men and women in our “Salvadoran Voices of Manitoba” project have learned over the past year how to document their history, but also that it is their responsibility to write their own history, because no one else will do it for them. They embrace this, because they wish to leave a legacy for their children.

For you personally, why do you want to do this kind of research?

Every time someone generously shares her or his life story with me, I am allowed to enter a new, strange, fascinating world. Together, we then explore the meanings of this world. Sometimes, this can be painful, but it is usually a constructive process. Through this process, we are transformed, even if only in little ways. Oral history is more than detached research. It is a human encounter that may help both, the interviewer and the narrator, to reflect, to learn, and to grow.

What is the most satisfying part of this research?

At the Oral History Centre, we do many of our projects as participatory action research. It is what we often refer to as “sharing authority,” where we collapse the boundary between researcher and “subject.” We achieve this by teaching people how to do historical research. Without a doubt, seeing students and community members learn how do historical research is the most satisfying aspect. I am very happy when I see how they increasingly feel empowered as they consciously take step after step on their journey from passively consuming history to actively and creatively producing history.

What kind of student involvement do you have in this research?

One of my students is a paid research assistant. Two other research assistants are community members. Several other students, whose work is partially funded through the UW, are conducting their own research projects. In all cases, the students designed research projects, conducted extensive oral history interviews with diverse communities, including refugees from Afghanistan, Columbia, and Chile, with Nigerian immigrants, and with Metis families. They transcribed the interviews and are currently processing them for archiving to make them available to other researchers. They also review the research that has already been published and conduct archival research. And, of course, they write up their research.

What would you say to students who may be interested in this field of study?

Please visit us at the Oral History Centre where we can sit down to explore your interests and where you can ask our research students about their experiences.