Oral Histories
What?
Oral history is primary-source material created during an interview with a witness to or a participant in an event or way of life for the purpose of preserving the information and making it available to others, The term refers to both the process and the interview itself. Oral history interviews are grouped into two categories: life interviews and project interviews. Life interviews involve multiple interview sessions with one person to create a collection of autobiographical materials. Project interviews encompass a series of interviews with a variety of individuals about a specific historical topic, place, or event of interest.[1] Why? Oral histories are important because they help document events in the history of a community. They allow researchers and participants to probe beneath the traditional written record to discover not just what happened but how and why, to explain anomalies, and provide evidence to enhance understanding of a past time or place. Oral histories also can serve people with a history of disenfranchisement, as those with little or no written record, or for whom the record is distorted, benefit from oral history. They complement and supplement the existing record, and provide an opportunity to make changes and additions. Oral histories can correct misconceptions about an event, collect information to balance the record, and begin an impetus for developing community pride through telling people’s stories in their own words.[2] How? There are many published resources devoted to covering the specifics of oral history—i.e., preparation, performance, preservation, and access.[3] The process, in general, is as follows:
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UNC Libraries presentation on conducting oral history interviews.
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TIPS FOR PRESERVATIONISTS
Who to Contact?
It behooves preservationists to recognize and appreciate the value of contextual knowledge and collaborate on community-based projects with a diverse coalition of individuals and organizations. Potential gateways to find oral history interviewees:
Make Sure to Ask Placed-Based Questions
Testimonies can reveal a site’s significance through personal and communal stories. Interviewers must ask narrators to explicitly describe their connection to places and document the ways in which their form and appearance support the retelling of those stories. Questions about the interior, exterior, and what a place may mean to them can lead narrators to relate important insights about the value of a location through both sensory perception and memory.
Effective Uses
1. The Vermont Folklife Center’s mission to document, sustain, and present the diverse cultures of Vermont. The organization works to make Vermonters more visible to one another through exhibits, education programs, arts programs, archival resources, and oral histories. The staff are trained in ethnographic and cultural documentation methods. Specifically for oral history projects, the Vermont Folklife Center has resources that include:
2. The Oral History Society (UK) provides effective examples for recording community members’ memories, experiences, and opinions, including those people who have been ‘hidden from history.’ The organization offers new insights and perspectives on the collection, preservation, and use of recorded memories which can play a key role in facilitating and developing the use of oral history in historic preservation projects. Resources include:
3. The Baylor University Institute for Oral History has recorded and preserved oral histories since 1970. The organization has established a strong reputation for multidisciplinary outreach to both academic scholars and community historians by providing professional leadership, educational tools, and research opportunities. Resources includes:
4. The UCLA Center for Oral History Research provides effective advice and information regarding the practice of oral history. The public may browse the center’s collections and access online resources. Resources include:
Further Reading:
Thomas, June M. “Neighborhood Planning: Uses of Oral History.” Journal of Planning History 2, no. 1 (February 2004): 50-50.
Benmayor, Rina. “Contested Memories of Place: Representations of Salinas’ Chinatown.” Oral History Review 37, no. 2 (Summer/Fall 2010): 225-234.
Who to Contact?
It behooves preservationists to recognize and appreciate the value of contextual knowledge and collaborate on community-based projects with a diverse coalition of individuals and organizations. Potential gateways to find oral history interviewees:
- Community elders
- Religious institutions
- Educational institutions
- Civic organizations
- Political organizations
- Business groups
- Professional associations
Make Sure to Ask Placed-Based Questions
Testimonies can reveal a site’s significance through personal and communal stories. Interviewers must ask narrators to explicitly describe their connection to places and document the ways in which their form and appearance support the retelling of those stories. Questions about the interior, exterior, and what a place may mean to them can lead narrators to relate important insights about the value of a location through both sensory perception and memory.
Effective Uses
1. The Vermont Folklife Center’s mission to document, sustain, and present the diverse cultures of Vermont. The organization works to make Vermonters more visible to one another through exhibits, education programs, arts programs, archival resources, and oral histories. The staff are trained in ethnographic and cultural documentation methods. Specifically for oral history projects, the Vermont Folklife Center has resources that include:
- Tips for video conference platforms
- Tips for recording interviews remotely
- Platforms for remote audio and/or video recording, including Skype, Webex, Zoom, and smartphone apps
- Advice on conducting oral histories during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Interviewing advice
- Recording advice
- Prompts
2. The Oral History Society (UK) provides effective examples for recording community members’ memories, experiences, and opinions, including those people who have been ‘hidden from history.’ The organization offers new insights and perspectives on the collection, preservation, and use of recorded memories which can play a key role in facilitating and developing the use of oral history in historic preservation projects. Resources include:
- Training for interviewing skills development
- Training for digital editing
- Training for transcript management
- Remote interviewing during COVID-19
- In-person interviewing during COVID-19
- Options/Technologies for Recording Remote Interviews
- Resources for online interviewing
3. The Baylor University Institute for Oral History has recorded and preserved oral histories since 1970. The organization has established a strong reputation for multidisciplinary outreach to both academic scholars and community historians by providing professional leadership, educational tools, and research opportunities. Resources includes:
- Online training workshops about project planning, interviewing techniques, equipment choices, ethical and legal considerations, and tips for preserving and sharing interviews.
- How to Interview
- Organizing Oral History Projects
- Transcription Guide
- Remote Interviewing Webinar
4. The UCLA Center for Oral History Research provides effective advice and information regarding the practice of oral history. The public may browse the center’s collections and access online resources. Resources include:
- Interviewing guidelines
- Sample Legal Agreements
- Equipment and Recording Tips
- Sample Interview Outlines and Questions
Further Reading:
Thomas, June M. “Neighborhood Planning: Uses of Oral History.” Journal of Planning History 2, no. 1 (February 2004): 50-50.
- Value for Asian Americans in Maryland Historic Context Statement: Oral history as a technique can help access information from those “at the margins” of society who live in distressed neighborhoods, like the old Chinatown area in Baltimore. Interviews conducted with board members of two Detroit community organizations glean lessons about the importance of residents’ personal experiences within the local neighborhoods. Collecting such historical insights can become a productive part of neighborhood preservation planning.
Benmayor, Rina. “Contested Memories of Place: Representations of Salinas’ Chinatown.” Oral History Review 37, no. 2 (Summer/Fall 2010): 225-234.
- Value for Asian Americans in Maryland Historic Context Statement: Oral histories can reveal multiple and contested significations of place. In this study of the old Chinatown community in Salinas, California, narratives shed light on the tensions involved in cultural recovery and negotiating spatial claims across ethnic and cultural groups, generations, and social classes. Accounts reveal how the restoration of lost community history can generate new coalitional practice to inform historical recovery and community revitalization.
References
1. Barbara W. Sommer and Mary K. Quinlan, The Oral History Manual (2nd edition), (Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press, 2009): 1-2.
2. Ibid., 3-4.
3. For more, see Donald A. Ritchie, Doing Oral History: A Practical Guide (2nd edition), (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2003); Donald A. Ritchie, The Oxford Handbook of Oral History, (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2011); Laurie Mercier and Madeline Buckendorf, Using Oral History in Community History Projects (2nd edition), (Carlisle, PA: Oral History Association, 2010); Paul Thompson and Joanna Bornat, The Voices of the Past: Oral History (4th edition), (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2017); Valerie R. Yow, Recording Oral History: A Guide for the Humanities and Social Sciences (3rd edition), (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2015); and Barbara W. Sommer and Mary K. Quinlan, The Oral History Manual (3rd edition), (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2018).
1. Barbara W. Sommer and Mary K. Quinlan, The Oral History Manual (2nd edition), (Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press, 2009): 1-2.
2. Ibid., 3-4.
3. For more, see Donald A. Ritchie, Doing Oral History: A Practical Guide (2nd edition), (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2003); Donald A. Ritchie, The Oxford Handbook of Oral History, (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2011); Laurie Mercier and Madeline Buckendorf, Using Oral History in Community History Projects (2nd edition), (Carlisle, PA: Oral History Association, 2010); Paul Thompson and Joanna Bornat, The Voices of the Past: Oral History (4th edition), (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2017); Valerie R. Yow, Recording Oral History: A Guide for the Humanities and Social Sciences (3rd edition), (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2015); and Barbara W. Sommer and Mary K. Quinlan, The Oral History Manual (3rd edition), (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2018).