Oral History

Producing oral history documents is a systematic attempt to enlist significant people with first-hand knowledge of special historical developments and experiences into tape-recording their memoirs while they are still able to do so effectively, that is, with sufficient powers of recall. Oral history is spoken history, subject to all the biases and vagaries inherent in human recall; yet it is not substantially different from other historical sources (diaries, correspondence, official documents, newspapers, photographs, etc.) which are distorted, partial, and viewed through the screen of contemporary experience. Oral history data must be subjected to the same tests of evidence as other sources, examined along with other contemporary sources for corroboration and authentication. The primary value of oral history testimony is its usefulness in social history, for reconstructing the fabric of daily life since the turn-of-the-century, and for documenting the mundane details of family and community life for which written evidence is often scarce. (From the Oral History Primer)

All tapes should include:

Introduction: state for the record your name and the person whom you are interviewing, the date, the location of the interview. Begin the interview with a question about the person's birth date, place, names of their parents.

Transcription of Interview should follow WSU Template

Oral histories with proper release forms are excluded from IRB review.

For Information About Techniques:

• One Minute Guide to Oral History
• Short Guides
• Indiana University Center for the Study of History and Memory
• From DoHistory a toolkit.
• The Library of Congress has a site for K12 teachers on using oral history in the classroom.
• The U.S. Army posts a pamphlet on oral history techniques (1992).
• Baylor University Institute for Oral History Workshop on the Web

For information about ethics and use of oral histories:

• OHA Evaluation Guidelines
• From History Matters "Making Sense of Oral History"

For information about oral history organizations and projects:

• From emtech, a list of projects
• The Oral History Association
• The Oral History Society
• The Story Corps Project
• Yourstory (University of Utah)
• H-Oralhist (A list serve)
• The Regional Oral History Project, UC Berkeley
• The WPA American Life Histories from the Library of Congress
• Center for Documentary Studies, Duke Unviersity
   

Basic Bibliography on Oral History, maintained by UC, Santa Cruz