What is Oral History?

Harrison PrepCommunity and Service 2014

What Is Oral History? Conversations about “the old days” among

family members, neighbors, or coworkers. Captured and Printed stories that tell first

hand accounts about past times and present experiences.

Recorded interviews with individuals deemed to have an important story to tell.

What do I Use? Audio- and videotape recorders. Digital recording devices. Human capacity for listening and writing! Word programs to create a transcript. i-movie to edit video Garageband to create audio and video

podcasts i-photo to create books and publish photos. Scanners to scan photos and documents. Powerpoint to create multimedia

presentations.

How do I do it? Oral history is, at its heart, a dialogue.

This “conversation” takes the form of an interview, in which one person—the interviewer—asks questions of another person—referred to as the interviewee or narrator.

The questions asked by the interviewer, should have a particular frame of reference or historical interest.

The responses from the narrator show the person’s sense of what is important or what he or she thinks is important to tell the interviewer.

The interviewer responds in turn and shapes the interviewer’s subsequent questions.

What is my role? There is no doubt that the single most important

factor in the constitution of an interview is the questions posed by the interviewer.

You determine what is historically important, and your questions provide the direction and shape of the narrator’s story.

Good interviewers listen carefully and attempt to more closely align their questions with what the narrator thinks is important.

You need to ask what is important in their lives.

What Questions Should I ask? Where were you born? How did you get here? Where is your family from? What did you do? - job Why did you do it? What was your favorite thing to do? What do you think about what is

different from when you were young and today?

What Questions Should I ask? What is your religion? What kind of activities do you like? What is your favorite thing to eat? What are your hobbies? Do you have any funny stories?

What worked/didn’t Trust Engage Knowledge -biography What’s the point? What do I really want to know? Prepare – develop questions Resistance

What Questions Should I ask?Where have you lived?

Do you have any family? – where do they live?

What was your childhood like? – sensitive!

What do you regret? Doing or Not doing?

What made you happy?

What did your parents do? – sensitive!

What inspires you to do what you do!

How is this going to work?1. You will work in groups of 3-4,

- Each person will have tasks to accomplish. - Your grade will be determined by your group.

2. You will be assigned a person to interview.3. Your group will be responsible for

researching: 1. Who they are2. Where they lived3. Developing a set of questions to ask the

narrator.

4. Your group will determine which format you will publish your project (audio,video, ppt., etc)

How is going to work5. Your group will be responsible

for working together to capture and publish a project.

6. All groups will produce a project to give to the narrator and publish to our school website.

7. Your project will be presented at HP on

6/17/11

Production Schedule 2/24 – Intro to Oral History

Determine Groups/Interviewee Start Research on individual Intro to production tools (computer clubhouse)

4/7 – Interview Subjects Research/Record Start project

Transcribe interview Scan pictures Start editing

Production Schedule 4/28 – Finish Interviews

Research/Record Start project

Transcribe interview Scan pictures Start editing

5/17 – Work on Projects Finish Research Create Rough projects

Finish Transcribe interview Finish Scan pictures Finish editing/production

Production Schedule 5/17 – Work on Projects Finish Research Finish projects:

Finish Transcribe interview Finish Scan pictures Finish editing/production

1) Today is a work day, please work to complete your projects. No product no party!!!

2) We would like to have a thank you party/presentation for the participants on 6/17.

We need volunteers to bring food/drink/napkins etc. - remember no homemade food!

3) We will be presenting our CSD project to the School in the afternoon on 6/17.

Ian Cook will be heading up a group to take pictures of groups working, and to gather up written descriptions of your activity to share with the school.

Production Schedule 6/17 – Present Projects

Produce Finished projects Publish Transcription of interviews Produce Digitized volumes of catalogued pictures Produce final presentations of people’s story