Managing distance when teaching, learning, and doing oral history: a case study from Vietnam

This chapter focuses on the teaching and learning component of an intergenerational research project with learners, researchers, and communities in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam, that forms part of the Living Deltas Research Hub (www.livingdeltas.org). The chapter presents a short introduction to oral history and oral history pedagogy and the principles and approach that underpin the design of the research and its associated teaching and learning. The main part of the chapter explores the pedagogical realities of working in a context of multiple distances between workshop facilitators and learners. Covid-19 required the adoption of a remote approach to delivering workshops, and this geographic distance between facilitators and learners impacted upon the design of the training, its content, and the teaching and learning experience. The authors also reflect upon language and disciplinary distances between facilitators and learners and how these interact with oral history pedagogy.