Oral History Project
Oral History refers to the method of recording and preserving a verbal testimony. It begins with
an audio or video recording of a first and/or second person account given by the interviewee; the
person responding to questions. That account is recorded by the interviewer; the person asking
questions. The end result of this recorded conversation will be the creation of a permanent
record that contributes to a better understanding of the past. The Oral History is then preserved
and made available in different forms to other users, researchers, and to the public as well.
The Project: Your assignment will be to interview a veteran of the Korean War. List of veterans
and their contact information will be provided by your instructor. Interviewing a veteran means
you are documenting history and making a treasured record. You will have to do some work, but
you will also be involved in something that is fun and exciting. Each oral interview is unique
because the people are unique and each person has his own history to tell. The person
interviewed will be unknown but you will have a series of questions already prepared to help
facilitate your conversation. All interviews will be stored and archived with the Korean War
Legacy Foundation (KWLF), Inc., an organization that supports veterans and which houses 500
in-depth interviews and 6,000 artifacts relating the war in Korea.
Transcriptions: Your assignment will also be to produce a transcript of your interview. Most oral
history interviews have been transcribed for ease of use. The interview can be read much more
quickly than listened to or watched. The tapes may or may not be fragile and there may or may
not be equipment to play them back on. This means that someone is going to have to listen at
least once to the analog or digital recording. The length of the transcriptions will vary so not set
page requirements exist.
The Goal: The goal of this project is a brief but detailed exploration of some aspect of the
Korean War.
The Purposes: The purpose of this project include developing critical reading, writing, and
investigative skills; enhancing historical research methods; and developing interpretive skills
through the use of primary sources.
The Questions: A list of questions will be provided to you by your instructor. You will have a
list of questions that include requests for basic facts as well as open-ended questions. Among the
basic fact questions are: (1) What is your name and how do you spell it? (2) Where are you
from? (3) How long have you lived in the neighborhood? & (4) What school did you attend?
Open-ended questions might include: (1) Tell me what you like best about the neighborhood? (2)
What has changed the most in the neighborhood since you moved here? Use the questions
provided but feel free to ask your own and/or follow up questions.
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The Interview: As the interviewer, you will open the taping session with your name, the date,
and the name of the person being interviewed. The person should also give his name as
verification. This gives the interviewee an easy answer to start out with and it makes it clear that
this is going to be about that person. You should ask follow-up questions, especially if the
person is heading off in different directions that don’t relate to the project or if they give short
answers. One way people know that they are being listened to is by asking them a question based
on what they just said. Ask them questions in response to some of the above. It is important to
remember the interview is about the interviewee’s story.
Equipment: For this project you will be provided with recording equipment. For all interviews a
recording device of some sort is needed. In many instances a tape recorder, cell phone, iPhone,
and even iPad can serve as reliable recorders. Your recording equipment will be provided on the
day of the interview but you can actually start practicing now. Don’t wait till the interview day;
you will want to practice, practice, and practice. Practice using your equipment before you
actually interview anyone. Practice with family members, friends, in front of the mirror, or even
with a pet. Part of what you are practicing is using the equipment as well as hearing yourself ask
questions.
Scheduling: This interview is scheduled on the campus of HCC Central on Monday, June 29,
2015 between the hours of 10:00 and 12:00. This includes set up and take down time. The
length of the interview will vary but for this project they should not last more than one hour.
Take caution at how quickly the time goes by during the interview. Make the length of the
interview clear to the interviewee from the start. When you first meet them, tell them who you
are and what you are doing. For example say, “Hello, my name is John Doe and I am doing an
oral interview project for Dr. Esparza’s American History course at HCC Central.”
Release Forms: This is probably the second most important thing you need to remember to do.
Without the permission of the interviewee for others to use the interview, the interview will be
caught in copyright limbo for 90 years or more. Don’t forget, you as the interviewer should sign
the release form as well.
Due Date: This is not the kind of project that you can do in one night and so it has been spread
out over the next few short weeks. Remember that this project is worth up to 100 points and is
due to me by Wednesday, July 8, 2015; both parts, the audio file and the transcript. Anything
handed in after that day cannot be accepted. I will need a digitized copy of both the interview
and the transcript. Bring those items on a flash drive and have them ready to be dumped onto my
desktop. No emails please.
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