Exploring Projects in the College Classroom

Oral History

What is Oral History?

An oral history begins when one person tells a story about his or her own experiences to another person and culminates in a sound recording that preserves that person’s account for posterity.

MethodologyLike ethnography, oral history is multidisciplinary; it is employed by social scientists in many situations seeking answers to a variety of research questions.

DATA vs

TEXTNarrative analysis

memory as construction

Public memoryShared authority

FOLKLORE

Oral History Association

“Oral history is a way of collecting and interpreting human memories to foster knowledge and human dignity.”

What is an oral historian?Oral history has always been multi-disciplinary

•History degree is not a pre-requisite•Properly trained students as well as scholars can make good interviewers•Principles, standards and guidelines can be followed by virtually anyone

Many oral history projects are one-person operations:

•Prepare grant proposals•Train interviewers•Seek out interviewees•Select equipment•Manage documentation•Deposit interviews in libraries/museums•Handle publicity for the project

Curiosity

Patience

Ready?“Most oral historians learn by doing, and our

understanding of the theories of interviewing and our interpretation have more often followed than

preceded our interviewing . . . . Stop worrying and actually do some interviews.”

(Ritchie, 2006, p. 16)

Storycorps Great Questions List

Who has been the biggest influence on your life? What lessons did that personShare with you?

What is your earliest memory?

How has your life been different than what you’d imagined?

How would you like to be remembered?

Is there anything that you’ve never told me but want to tell me now?

When did you find first find out that you’d be a parent? How did you feel?

How has being a parent changed you?

How did you choose my name?

How did you meet your husband/wife?

Family & Friends Plan Describe the person you’d most

like to choose to interview for a StoryCorps project if you had the opportunity. This must be a person that you have access to in real life (i.e. only living people, no celebrities, etc.). What are your reasons for wanting to interview this person? What kinds of questions would you ask? What sort of responses do you think you might get? What would you envision for a video animation version of your interview? You will not be required to actually interview this person as part of this assignment.

Sample ResponsesI would like to interview my

grandfather who served in the Korean War . . . He raised me after my father died when I was four years old . . . I’d like to ask him about losing his only son . . .

I imagine asking my mother whether she really favored my brother, because it always felt that way when we were growing up. . . .

I want to know how my parents met. I got interested in this because they’ve never told me this story and I love the show “How I Met Your Mother.” I imagine they will make the story suspenseful and interesting.

Fish Bowl Interview

Memories of 9/11

Guiding question:

What were YOU doing, thinking, feeling on September 11, 2001.

Informed Consent & Other Fine Print

Institutional Review Boards (IRB)

Tuskegee syphilis experimentsThe Belmont Report (1979)

Informed Consent: The right to make decisions about one’s own behavior

Beneficence: Minimizing of harm and maximizing of benefits in research

Justice: Equitable selection of research subjects

Preparing for an InterviewLearn about the general subject matter and the people to be interviewed

Construct a timeline of events in the subject’s life history.

Read or listen to other oral histories on the subject.

Find a repository for your interview (library, museum, online resource).

Prepare statement of purpose, consent, and deed-of-gift forms.

Compose a 300-500 word biographical sketch about yourself to share.

Approach potential interview subjects to seek permission for an interview.

Schedule a pre-interview meeting to establish rapport.

Familiarize yourself with your recording equipment.

Chronological vs. TopicalStart slow: Build up to “home run” questions

Include personal, customized questions.Mix open-ended and specific questions

Avoid leading or manipulative questions.Do not interrupt.

Crafting Questions

Pre-Interview MeetingPre-test several of your questions at the pre-interview meeting.

Take notes on unfamiliar subjects raised to direct additional preparation.

Keep the meeting short (30 minutes is appropriate).

Do not record the pre-interview meeting. Take notes.

Evaluate suitability of location for recording (noise, interruption, comfort)

General guideline: 5 hours of prep for every hour of interviewing.

EquipmentCheck

New batteries

Power cord/outlet

Test and playback

Visible placement

Eliminate noise

No phones

Sign on door

Conducting the Interview

Avoid going “off the record.”Conclude interview with review of publishing

process.Process interviews as quickly as possible. If possible, have interview transcribed and

edited.If not transcribed, index or tag the recording.

Special Considerations

Multimedia Uses

Extending Oral HistoryStudent Projects