US History Oral History Project
Oral history is both one of the oldest and one of the newest forms of historical documentation. People have passed down histories for millennia, and in the 1940s Columbia University began recording oral histories as we understand them today. Currently, the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress has 6 million items in its collection (Library of Congress, Fascinating Facts).
This project gives you the opportunity to do the real work of a historian, selecting an individual to interview about his or her experience a historical event or trend, gathering research about the era to help you interpret the interview, recording and transcribing the memories, and archiving them for others to access for future study. Your final product will include your full annotated works collected, as well as your researched historical contextualization and your historical analysis in which you discuss the interview’s possible biases, if it contradicts or complements your historical research, and how it adds to your understanding of the historical event or trend. How you package and deliver your final oral history project is up to you. You could produce a traditional these paper (10-14 pages), or you could flex your creative muscles and produce something that reflects the modern media landscape in which we live. Below you will find some suggestions along these lines from the class’s Creative/Technical Consultant, Mr. Kiefer. He is more than happy to help you develop and bring to life your creative vision. Your project could be:
This project gives you the opportunity to do the real work of a historian, selecting an individual to interview about his or her experience a historical event or trend, gathering research about the era to help you interpret the interview, recording and transcribing the memories, and archiving them for others to access for future study. Your final product will include your full annotated works collected, as well as your researched historical contextualization and your historical analysis in which you discuss the interview’s possible biases, if it contradicts or complements your historical research, and how it adds to your understanding of the historical event or trend. How you package and deliver your final oral history project is up to you. You could produce a traditional these paper (10-14 pages), or you could flex your creative muscles and produce something that reflects the modern media landscape in which we live. Below you will find some suggestions along these lines from the class’s Creative/Technical Consultant, Mr. Kiefer. He is more than happy to help you develop and bring to life your creative vision. Your project could be:
- a website
- a podcast
- a multimedia webpage
- an original video
To view a sample of student work about the Asian American Identity, visit this website titled "What Are You?"