Introduction & Scope
Oral history is collecting those memories through oral history interviews in which a well-prepared interviewer asks a series of questions to interviewees and records their questions and answers. These recorded memories have great values that can fill in the blanks within the written documents. Especially for the historians of contemporary era, oral history is an indispensable tool for their research. However, oral history for the serious historical research is only one aspect of oral history. Many high school and undergraduate history classes are implementing oral history for student projects and class presentations and it helps student to see the history that is not only written in text book but also experienced by real people. Students usually interview elderly members of their families and/or communities and record the interviews and use them for their project. Recorded interviews through this process have a great educational value as well as historical value because they contain stories from the past, which have been watched, heard and experienced by a living individual. They may sound silly personal stories, but they can have significant historical values depending on what kinds of questions were asked and how the stories were interpreted. Although many are involved oral history, its practice is a very delicate process. Since an oral history interviewer deals with individuals whose memory can be inaccurate or biased by personal experience, conducting oral history interviews or research is not as simple as it looks like. Also, since oral history deals with living human beings as objects of study, it needs more rigorous standards and ethics. So, the purpose of this pathfinder is to provide introductory resources for those individuals who are interested in and starting oral history practice. The intended audience is the general public including high school students and lower level undergraduate student who do not have formal training as oral historians. Only those resources which are easily accessible for general public are listed in this pathfinder. Along with the traditional reference sources, I will present information about depositories of large oral history collections. In addition, several classical works in the field will be included. Subject Headings and Browsing Areas
As a part of history, oral history is mainly classified under History – Methodology so that D 16 in the LC classification system is the main browsing area. However, the books which are based on oral history research can be found in many areas. For example, many books on contemporary history or biographies of peoples in contemporary era are written on the base of oral history researches. So below is the list of keywords which one can use to find the works based on oral history research.
Oral History, Oral literature, Oral narrative, Storyteller, Folk narrative, Folk history, consider also word of mouth, transmitted verbally, eyewitness account, bystander account, ethnohistory, autobiography, cultural transmissions, interviews, life history, local history, narratives, oral tradition, social history. ( Knapp, Sara D, The contemporary Thesaurus of Search Terms and Synonyms; A Guide for natural Language Computer Searching, (2nd ed.), Phoenix, Arizona: Orix Pr. 2000.)
Key to Abbreviations & Locations
ULIB: University at Albany, Main library DEWEY: University at Albany, Dewey Graduate Library REF: Reference Section GOVDOC : Government Document section in the Main library IMC : Interactive Media Center in the Main Library BUF : State University of New York at Buffalo, Lockwood Library
Dictionaries & Encyclopedias
There is no dictionary or encyclopedia which deals with oral history exclusively. However, several history encyclopedias give information on oral history. As one of the most recent encyclopedia, I have listed A global encyclopedia of historical writing. In ‘oral history’ section, it contains basic definition and brief historiography. Also, ‘Oral Tradition’ ‘Memory and History’, ’Social history’ and ‘Women’s History’ section have related information. ► Woolf, D. R. (1998). A global encyclopedia of historical writing. New York: Garland Pub. Call # : ULIB REF D 13 G47 1998 V.1 & V.2 “ Historical encyclopedias abound, but this is the first major work covering historiography and historians from around the world. Some 365 scholars have contributed essays ranging in length from a paragraph to several pages. All entries include cross references to related topics and bibliographies of key works, and a fine subject index closes the work.” (Library Journal. 1998)
Directories & CataloguesHere are some printed directories and catalogues which have the information about existing oral history collections. In recent years many of these sources are available through the internet and I have listed them at the section of internet sources.
► Champagne, A., Harrison, C. E., Land, A., & United States. Federal Judicial History Office. (1992). A Directory of oral history interviews related to the federal courts. Washington, DC(1520 H Street, N.W., Washington20005): Federal Judicial History Office Federal Judicial Center. Call # : ULIB GOVDOC J 85 JU 13.14:H 62 ; also available at http://www.fjc.gov/history/oral_history.pdf
This directory describes the name of the interviewee and interviewer, the time, the place and etc., some 900 oral history interviews with federal judges and with other persons involved in federal litigation or associated with federal courts. (http://www.jsu.edu/depart/library/personal/HW_WEB/lawlisting.html)
► Columbia University. Oral History Research Office., Mason, E. B., & Starr, L. M. (1973). The Oral History Collection of ColumbiaUniversity (3d ed.). New York;: Sold by Microfilming Corp. of America Glen Rock N.J. Call # : ULIB D 16.14 Z999 C65X 1973
A descriptive guide to the major American oral history collections, covering about 360,000 pages of transcripts. Items which are part of the published collection. ( http://www.lib.duke.edu/reference/subjects/prihist/prihist.htm )
► Meckler Publishing. (1990). Oral history index: an international directory of oral history interviews. Westport: Meckler. Call # : ULIB REF D 16.14 O74 1990.
An alphabetical index to over 30,000 oral history transcripts held at nearly 400 oral history centers in the United States, Great Britain, Canada, and Israel. ( http://www.usd.edu/library/subject/history.html )
► Ringelheim, J. M. (1992). A catalogue of audio and video collections of Holocaust testimony (2nd ed.). New York: Greenwood Press. Call # : ULIB D 804.3 R55 1992 Provides descriptive listings of 43 major holdings of audio and video tapes of interviews with Holocaust survivors, as well as a listing of smaller collections. Access is provided to more than 11,600 interviews. Each major entry begins with basic information on the location and access of the collection, followed by a summary of the content. The last portion of each major entry provides information on additional Holocaust material available in each repository, followed by comments of the archivist or director ( http://info.greenwood.com/books/0313282/0313282218.html )
Indexes and Abstracts
Indexes and Abstracts listed here are available through the University at Albany Library web site. Those who search oral history sources from these indexes and abstract may use the keywords that I have provided. America : history and life and Historical Abstract are specialized for the sources in history and Ebsco and Info Trac are for more general sources.
► America: history and Life http://library.albany.edu/databases/libresre.asp?resourceid=36
Covers the history and culture of the United States and Canada from prehistoric times to the present. Over 90% of the articles are from English-language journals. The database also includes citations to dissertations, book reviews, and media reviews.
► Historical Abstract http://library.albany.edu/databases/libresre.asp?resourceid=317
Covers the history of the world except for the United States and Canada from 1450 to the present. Includes all branches of history: political, diplomatic, military, economic, social, cultural, religious, and intellectual history and the history of science, technology and medicine. Also includes materials relating to the profession of history. Approximately 50% of the articles are from English-language journals. A good source for finding scholarly sources on international issues.
► Archive USA http://library.albany.edu/databases/libresre.asp?resourceid=48
Archive USA is a great source to find archival materials. Using the keywords such as ‘Oral history’ ‘Interview’ and ‘transcripts’, you can find many oral history materials and their repositories. Database is derived from the Directory of Archives and Manuscript Repositories in the United States (DAMRUS), the National Union Catalogue of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC) and the National Inventory of Documentary Sources in the United States (NIDS)
► EBSCO Academic Search Premier http://library.albany.edu/databases/libresre.asp?resourceid=13
Scholarly, multidisciplinary, full text database covering 4,400+ social science, humanities, science and technology titles. 2,500+ titles are peer reviewed.
► Info Trac One File http://library.albany.edu/databases/libresre.asp?resourceid=1865
General database with access to 6,000 publications including refereed academic journals spanning the disciplines and general interest magazines. There is particularly strong coverage in business, technology, law, health care and news/newswires. 3,000 publications are available in full text.
Bibliographies
There are not many bibliographies on oral history and even existing bibliographies are somewhat old. For more recent bibliographies you may check the reference section of any guides and manuals that I am listing below.
► Havlice, P. P. (1985). Oral History: A Reference Guide and Annotated Bibliography. Jefferson, N.C: McFarland and Co., Inc. Ca Call # : ULIB D 16.14 Z999 H39X 1985
A brief essay on accessing oral history is followed by a bibliography of books, articles, and dissertations on the subject. It covers about 800 entries. (http://www.lib.jmu.edu/history/histguid.html )
► Waserman, M. J. (1971). Bibliography on oral history. New York,: Oral History Association. Call # : ULIB Z 6208 O72X W37
This three parts of bibliography of just under 400 citations lists items which appeared up to early 1975: 1)books and articles o oral history; 2)catalogs of outstanding collections; 3)recent books based on oral history interviews.(Havlice, Oral history. 1985)
Periodicals
► Oral History Association., (1973 - ) The Oral history review. New York: Oral History Association. Call # : UALB ULIB MIC Per D 16 O68
The journal of the Oral History Association, published annually from 1973 to 1987 and biannually since then. Includes articles, interviews, review essays, and book and media reviews related to the practice of oral history in a variety of settings and the use and interpretation of interviews for a variety of scholarly and public purposes. (http://historymatters.gmu.edu/mse/oral/bibliography.htm )
► International journal of oral history. Westport, Conn.: Meckler Pub. (1980- ). Call #: UALB ULIB Per D 16.14 I57 After 1989, this journal has been continued as International Annual of Oral Histroy. The purpose of this journal is “providing a forum for articles on oral history methodologies and research perspectives..” ( http://www.greenwood.com/books/BookDetail.asp?dept_id=1&sku=OH90 )
Guides & Manuals
The books listed in this section are guides and manuals which a beginner oral historian can use. I tried to list the recent publications but there are some old works which are classic in the field. As a guide, each of these books contains the bibliography for further reading and it will be also very helpful.
► Baum, W. K. (1977). Transcribing and editing oral history. Nashville: American Association for State and Local History. Call # : UALB ULIB D 16.14 B38
Willa Baum once again shares her enormous knowledge of oral history in her second AASLH book, focusing this time on what to do when ending interviews, how to decide whether or not to transcribe, how to process data, and how to transcribe. Also provided are detailed instructions on auditing tapes, editing, working with legal agreements, indexing, and more.(Book description, http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0910050260/002-8720277-4132821?v=glance )
► Baum, W. K., Conference of California Historical Societies., & American Association for State and Local History. (1995). Oral history for the local historical society (2d ed.). Nashville,: American Association for State and Local History by special arrangement with the Conference of California Historical Society. Call # : ULIB D 16 B3 1977 & DEWEY D 16 B3 1977
A practical step-by-step guide for gathering history from the people who've experienced it. "Oral History for the Local Historical Society", a classic in the field for three decades, tells you how to start an oral history program in your community, how to select the right equipment, and how to interview people whose memories are a living connection to the past.(Book description, http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0761991336/002-8720277-4132821?v=glance )
► Bogart, B. A., & Montell, W. L. (1981). From memory to history : using oral sources in local historical research. Nashville, Tenn.: American Association for State and Local History. Call #: DEWEY D 16 A38 This little book is useful in several ways, but it is limited by the authors' almost exclusive reliance on folkloristic evidence and models of research with a rural or small-town bias. Both authors are specialists in folklore. That, however, can be no excuse for narrowness in overall perspective.(Journal of San Diego History, http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/83winter/br-memory.htm )
► Frisch, M. H. (1990). A shared authority: essays on the craft and meaning of oral and public history. Albany: State University of New York Press. Call # : BUF D16.14 .F75 1990 A collection of Frisch's previously published essays; a singularly thoughtful effort to understand the relationship between the practice of oral history and the politics of public memory.( http://historymatters.gmu.edu/mse/oral/bibliography.html )
► McMahan, E. M., & Rogers, K. L. (1994). Interactive oral history interviewing. Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum. Call # : ULIB D 16.14 I55 1994
This volume addresses the possibilities and constraints inherent in oral history interviewing. The essays represent an interpretive perspective of inquiry in oral history. This perspective considers oral history interviews as subjective, socially constructed and emergent events. ( http://books.kelkoo.co.uk/b/a/cpc_5101_gs_16270613_category.html )
► Perks, R., & Thomson, A. (2000). The oral history reader. London ; New York: Routledge. Call # : ULIB D 16.14 O76 2000
The Oral History Reader is an international anthology of the key writings about the theory, method and use of oral history. Arranged in five thematic sections, the collection details issues in the theory and practice of oral history and covers key debates in the postwar development of oral history.( http://sheffield.etailer.dpsl.net/Home/html/moreinfo.asp?isbn=0203435966 )
► Ritchie, D. A. (1995). Doing oral history. New York Toronto: Twayne Publishers ; Maxwell Macmillan Canada ; Maxwell Macmillan International. Call # : DEWEY D 16.14 R57 1995
A comprehensive handbook on the theory, methods, and practice of oral history, based on work by the Oral History Association to revise its professional standards and principles. Offers practical advice on obtaining funding, staffing, and equipment.( http://books.kelkoo.co.uk/b/a/cpc_5101_ps_3544172_gs_16270613.html )
► Sitton, T., Mehaffy, G. L., & Davis, O. L. (1983). Oral history : a guide for teachers (and others) (1st ed.). Austin: University of Texas Press. Call # : ULIB D 16.14 S57 1983.
This is probably the best manual yet published on doing oral history in the classroom. After a historical introduction the authors discuss the different types of projects and how they can be tied to various subjects. Technical matters, equipment, transcription and storage of the finished tapes and transcripts are described in detail. .(Havlice, Oral history. 1985)
► Sommer, B. W., & Quinlan, M. K. (2002). The oral history manual. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press. Call # : BUF D16.14 .S69 2002
In The Oral History Manual, Barbara Sommer and Mary Kay Quinlan have designed a guide to help anyone interested in doing oral history research think like an oral historian." Written with direct, clear language, the manual offers step-by-step instructions, checklists, full-size reproducible forms, sample planning documents, project descriptions and summary sheets, sample materials, and extensive illustrations to help guide readers in taking ideas for an oral history project and turning them into a successful format.(Publisher’s Note)
► United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Dept. of Oral History. (1998). Oral history interview guidelines, United StatesHolocaustMemorialMuseum . Washington, D.C.: U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Call # : ULIB GOVDOC J 85 Y 3.H 74:8 H 62 Available at http://www.ushmm.org/archives/oralhist.pdf
The Holocaust museum collects and produces video and audio-taped testimonies related to the Holocaust. These guidelines, providing direction in all aspects of conducting an interview, were created for the Museum's own interviewers. ( http://www.archives.gov/research_room/holocaust_era_assets/bibliographies/labor_camps.html)
Exemplary Works
In this section, I have listed significant books based on oral history research. Through the book listed here, you can have broad idea on how to use oral history for history writing.
► Berlin, I., Favreau, M., & Miller, S. F. (1998). Remembering slavery : African Americans talk about their personal experiences of slavery and freedom. New York: New Press in association with the Library of Congress Washington D.C. : Distributed by W.W. Norton. Call # : IMC MMKit E 444 R45X 1998
Two projects begun independently and presented together here provide chilling witness to slavery's persistent legacies. Transcripts of 124 former slaves interviewed in the 1920s and 1930s are accompanied by recently restored recorded interviews that have languished in the Library of Congress since 1941. Historian Berlin, founding director of the Freedmen and Southern Society Project at the University of Maryland, is a master of allowing the natural drama of history to unfold.(Publisher Weekly, 1998)
► Hampton, H., Fayer, S., & Flynn, S. (1990). Voices of freedom : an oral history of the civil rights movement from the 1950s through the 1980s. New York: Bantam Books. Call # : ULIB E 185.61 H224 1990 This collection of remembrances and personal anecdotes is based on 1000 interviews and records 30 years of the struggle to achieve equality and gain civil rights for black people. Ordinary people who fought to attain their civil rights are recorded here, as well as the more well-known leaders on the civil rights front. (School Library Journal, 1990)
► Portelli, A. (1991). The death of Luigi Trastulli, and other stories : form and meaning in oral history. Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press. Call # : ULIB D 16.14 P67 1991
Insightful, elegantly written analyses of oral narratives by a literary scholar with a deep understanding of the politics of history and historical practice; "The Death of Luigi Trastulli" is arguably the most cited essay about oral history narratives.( http://historymatters.gmu.edu/mse/oral/bibliography.html )
► Portelli, A. (1997). The battle of Valle Giulia : oral history and the art of dialogue. Madison, Wis.: University of Wisconsin Press. Call # : ULIB D 16.14 P66 1997 By listening to those whom others presume are "without historical memory"such as youthful protesters, or the rural Tuscan women who saw every father, son, and brother killed by Nazi soldiersPortelli clarifies the process by which narratives come into being as oral history, and he illustrates the differences and distances between story-telling and history-telling. Portelli's articulate discussion of dialogue, representation, narrative and genre link historical analysis with literary and linguistic theory and with the concerns of contemporary anthropology. Superb. These are wholly sophisticated essays, engaging the deepest questions from a position of full familiarity with the current theoretical literature. And yet they are marvelously accessible and readable, because of Portellis clear, personally grounded, humane, candid, and limitlessly curious intelligence.( http://www.wisc.edu/wisconsinpress/books/0404.htm )
► Terkel, S. (2000). Hard times: an oral history of the great depression. New York: New Press. Call # : ULIB E 806 T45 First published in 1970, this classic of oral history features the voices of men and women who lived through the Great Depression of the 1930s. It includes accounts by congressmen C. Wright Patman and Hamilton Fish, as well as failed presidential candidate Alf M. Landon, who recalls what it was like to be governor of Kansas in 1933.(Amazon.com) ► Terkel, S. (1984). "The good war”: an oral history of World War Two. New York: Pantheon Books. Call #: ULIB JUVENILE YD 940.54 T318 G6
Audiovisual Materials
► Ives, E. D., Northeast Archives of Folklore and Oral History., Sheldon Weiss Productions., Maine Humanities Council., & Champion International Corporation. (1987). An Oral historian's work [videorecording]. Orono, Me.: Northeast Archives of Folklore and Oral History.
Universityof Maine Folklore Professor Edward D.(Sandy) Ives explores a series of interviews with men who worked in the Mainewoods in the 1920's, along the way demonstrating his renowned techniques in compiling oral histories.( http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/AnOralHistoriansWork-1037903/preview.php )
Internet Sources
► Oral Histories Online Collection (http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/ROHO/ohonline/)
As a division of The Bancroft Library, the Regional Oral History Office (ROHO) preserves the history of the San Francisco Bay Area, California, and the Western United States. By conducting carefully researched, tape-recorded, and transcribed interviews, ROHO creates archival oral histories intended for the widest possible use.
► Oral History Association (http://omega.dickinson.edu/organizations/oha/)
The Oral History Association, established in 1966, seeks to bring together all persons interested in oral history as a way of collecting and interpreting human memories to foster knowledge and human dignity. With an international membership, the OHA serves a broad and diverse audience. Local historians, librarians and archivists, students, journalists, teachers, and academic scholars from many fields have found that the OHA provides both professional guidance and a collegial environment for sharing research.
► H-Oralhist (http://www.h-net.org/~oralhist/) A member of the H-Net, Humanities & Social Sciences On-Line initiative. H-Oralhist is a network for scholars and professionals active in studies related to oral history. It is affiliated with the Oral History Association.
► Columbia University Oral history Office (http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/indiv/oral/index.html)
The Columbia University Oral History Research Office is the oldest and largest organized oral history program in the world. Founded in 1948 by Pulitzer Prize winning historian Allan Nevins, the oral history collection now contains nearly 8,000 taped memoirs, and nearly 1,000,000 pages of transcript.
► Indiana University Center for the Study of History and Memory (http://www.indiana.edu/~cshm/) The center's mission encompassed archival, pedagogical, and research goals in the field of oral history, with particular emphasis on the history of Indiana and the Midwest. The center's grant-funded research projects embraced a wide variety of topics available in our Collections list, and the archive of oral history interviews from this research continues to grow. Students, faculty, and the public receive training in the methodology of oral history through workshops and our online guide to "Oral History Interviewing Techniques."
► Library of Congress - Using Oral History (http://lcweb2.loc.gov/learn/lessons/oralhist/ohhome.html)
This lesson presents social history content and topics through the voices of ordinary people. It draws on primary sources from the American Memory Collection, American Life Histories, 1936-1940.
► Step-by-Step Guide to Oral History (http://www.dohistory.org/on_your_own/toolkit/oralHistory.html)
Developed by historian and educator Judith Moyer, this thorough guide to oral history offers suggestions and strategies for collecting and preserving oral history. Topics range from an explanation of how and why to collect oral history to guidelines for planning and conducting an interview, including initial research, locating individuals, choosing equipment, and asking productive questions. Moyer also addresses a number of important conceptual and ethical issues related to conducting and using oral histories, including questions of accuracy, the limits of oral history, strategies for overcoming specific interview problems, and twenty questions to help interviewers learn from their experience.
► Matrix Oral History Tutorial (http://www.historicalvoices.org/oralhistory/rec-intro.html)
This tutorial is intended to assist researchers in implementing several important aspects of audio technology in the field, studio, and research lab. It presents a set of best practices in the recording, processing, and analysis of acoustic speech signals.
► ORAL HISTORY SOCIETY(U.K) (http://www.oralhistory.org.uk/)
Provides practical advice and training for oral historians in every level.
► Oral History Questions (http://www.rootsweb.com/~genepool/oralhist.htm) A useful list of questions for interviewers compiled from a variety of sources by Joanne Todd Rabun |
When someone thinks about History, it is most likely
that he or she will think about thick, dusty history books, torn manuscripts
or old yellowish documents in the archives. However, those are not all about
History. We all live in the time and have some stories and memories from the
past to tell others. Whether it has historical significance or not, all those
stories are histories.Compiled by Seang-ill (Peter) Bae
Graduate Student,
University at Albany, State University of New York
Last update: 04/21/2004