Introducing Oral History Project to Youth

Collecting oral histories is a wonderful way to not only engage students in history, but to preserve the heritage of your community. When first introducing the project, it is important to first talk to your students about the nature who history. How is history record? From whose point of view is it taken? Who decides what stories are told, and how they are interpreted? Lead a discussion so that students can see that the written history has two important limitations. First, by focusing on major events, the lives of everyday people are often neglected. Second, history in its written form is recorded by the powerful, and the marginalized segments of society rarely get to tell their story.

Oral history is thus a way to capture the lives of everyday people, to see what it was like to live in a certain time and place. It is also a way to learn about the people who were shut out of the history books. Oral histories are stories, interviews, songs, myths – anything that has been passed down by word of mouth. To help your students make a connection, ask them if there are any stories in their families that are told year after year during the holidays. Oral history is something we are all familiar with, even if we don’t always call it that name. Ask your students to describe the family story. Why do they think it gets told every year? What function does it serve? Has it changed over the years?

Once your students have a good understanding of what oral history is and why it is important, introduce your specific project. Give your students plenty of background information so that they are knowledgeable about the topic before any interviewing begins. Make sure your students know enough about the person who will be interviewed that they can write interview questions. Remind them, though, that the people who will read the transcripts might not know anything about the subject, so they should ask some questions to which they already know the answer. Indeed, the audience for the project should be kept in mind during the whole process. Always ask the interviewee his or her full name, date of birth, including the year, and where they were born. When writing questions, phrase them so they are open-ended and the interviewee cannot answer yes or no.

The interview should be recorded, either with a tape recorder or video camera. From the tape, transcripts can be made. At the interview, it is important to have a release form for the interviewees to sign. The form should make it clear how the interview will be used, especially if it will be published, and that the interviewee has given permission to be recorded. Bring two copies of the form, and give one to the interviewee for his or her records.

While students should go into the interview with questions written down, they should not feel obligated to follow them like a script. Rather, your students should feel free to allow the interview to flow, and to ask follow-up questions when a particularly rich subject is broached. During the interview, easy questions should be asked first, as to give the interviewee time to feel comfortable. Difficult or substantial should only come at the end, when rapport has been established. Instruct your students to encourage the interviewee to elaborate on his or her answers, especially if the answers lack specifics or are confusing to the student.

After the interview, be sure to send a thank-you note to the interviewee. If your project results in a paper or booklet, send a copy to each person you interviewed.