Paper short abstract:

Through cases studies of narratives about heritage and local history, the question of « the truth », which is regularly invoked by the amateur historians to legitimize their writings, will be examined here : which social conditions enable them to tell the "truth" and how do they tell it ?

Paper long abstract:

Hundreds of heritage associations have been created in the North of France for the last 30 years. Members of those local societies often write books or papers about the memory of places or monuments they intend to preserve. Interviews conducted among those amateur historians and heritage activists show that despite the social distance that could separate them, they all have a common point : the quest for truth. « To make the true history known », as one respondent said, is sometimes associated with a specific perception of details that nobody would have noticed before them. It could also be opposed either to fake history - made by other amateurs - or to academic history- written by scholars who don't care about local data. But what is « the truth » for these amateur historians and what types of narrative does it lead to? I'll try here to put some light on these questions through case studies from a collective fieldwork conducted in Picardy ( a region which is now part of the bigger region Hauts de France). We will first look at the way the autors tell their life stories and justify their work. Then two types of writings will be analysed : village monographs and historical fiction - this last writing being often told to be more « real ». What is at stake in those narratives ? In which social and political context are they embedded and which kind of recognition are their authors looking for ?