ORAL HISTORY GUIDELINES:
OBJECTIVES: Students are required to conduct an oral interview, approximately one hour in length, with a senior citizen. Students should discuss historical events that occurred during the interviewee’s life and his or her reactions to those events. Students should gain an appreciation of historical events as well as develop skills in asking critical questions.
METHOD: Students should identify and gain the approval of the interviewee with whom they want to conduct the oral history. As all interviewees have had different experiences throughout their lifetimes, students should consider the interviewee’s backgrounds and formulate questions from that. Also, consider the major historical events that have occurred during the interviewee’s life. This might include the Great Depression, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Integration, the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, etc. Ask questions concerning the major events then ask more specific questions. Ask them about day-to-day issues of their lifetimes, entertainment/pop culture, occupations and family. Your questions should be probing. They might include something similar to the following: “What did you think of...?” “How did that affect you and your family?” “What did you do when…?” You want to personalize this and put the interviewee’s life in a historical context. Be creative.
Put together a list of general questions and possibly some probing questions. You will need a working recording device in order to record the interview. Make sure audio equipment is working properly. When conducting the interview, simply start the recorder and put it out of the line of sight of the respondent. This will prevent unnecessary distractions. Also, take notes on paper during the interview. This will help you formulate other probing questions as well as some sort of “hard copy” of the interview at the time you’re finished with it.
TRANSCRIPT: Once you have finished the oral history, you will need to type up a transcript of the interview. There are not set rules for the form or style of how it is typed; however, you should differentiate who is speaking. For example, see below:
SMITH: What were your feelings about the first moon landing in 1969?
JONES: I was excited….
As people often use colloquial terms and grammar during interviews, it can be difficult to type these up. You do not need to include “nervous comments” such as “um”, “and um”, “you know” etc. You might need to clarify some grammar; although do deviate too much as you are also preserving the interviewee’s speaking style (this gives us a view of the person and who they were) as well as his/her history.
Also, it is not necessary to and you should not write in dialect. If they pronounce the word "something" as "sumptum", for example, simply write it as "something."
REACTION ESSAY: In addition to the oral history, you will write an essay based on your reactions to the interview. You will need to include what you have learned, your feeling/thoughts about the person’s experience. How would you feel if you had had his/her experiences? What has changed over his/her lifetime? Etc.
GRADING CRITERIA: Below is a copy of the grading criteria sheet I will be using to grade the oral histories.
25 Points for Each Criterion:
METHOD: Students should identify and gain the approval of the interviewee with whom they want to conduct the oral history. As all interviewees have had different experiences throughout their lifetimes, students should consider the interviewee’s backgrounds and formulate questions from that. Also, consider the major historical events that have occurred during the interviewee’s life. This might include the Great Depression, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Integration, the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, etc. Ask questions concerning the major events then ask more specific questions. Ask them about day-to-day issues of their lifetimes, entertainment/pop culture, occupations and family. Your questions should be probing. They might include something similar to the following: “What did you think of...?” “How did that affect you and your family?” “What did you do when…?” You want to personalize this and put the interviewee’s life in a historical context. Be creative.
Put together a list of general questions and possibly some probing questions. You will need a working recording device in order to record the interview. Make sure audio equipment is working properly. When conducting the interview, simply start the recorder and put it out of the line of sight of the respondent. This will prevent unnecessary distractions. Also, take notes on paper during the interview. This will help you formulate other probing questions as well as some sort of “hard copy” of the interview at the time you’re finished with it.
TRANSCRIPT: Once you have finished the oral history, you will need to type up a transcript of the interview. There are not set rules for the form or style of how it is typed; however, you should differentiate who is speaking. For example, see below:
SMITH: What were your feelings about the first moon landing in 1969?
JONES: I was excited….
As people often use colloquial terms and grammar during interviews, it can be difficult to type these up. You do not need to include “nervous comments” such as “um”, “and um”, “you know” etc. You might need to clarify some grammar; although do deviate too much as you are also preserving the interviewee’s speaking style (this gives us a view of the person and who they were) as well as his/her history.
Also, it is not necessary to and you should not write in dialect. If they pronounce the word "something" as "sumptum", for example, simply write it as "something."
REACTION ESSAY: In addition to the oral history, you will write an essay based on your reactions to the interview. You will need to include what you have learned, your feeling/thoughts about the person’s experience. How would you feel if you had had his/her experiences? What has changed over his/her lifetime? Etc.
GRADING CRITERIA: Below is a copy of the grading criteria sheet I will be using to grade the oral histories.
25 Points for Each Criterion:
- Pertinent Questions about feelings/reactions/involvement in World Events:
- Pertinent Questions about Personal Experiences:
- Follow-up Questions:
- Reaction Essay:
