Guidelines for Oral History Project
Due Dates:
Topic due: May 3
Project & Presentation due: May 17 (1st) /18 (2nd)
Point Value: 10 % of your grade!
What is Oral History?
Oral history is a field of study and a method of gathering, preserving and interpreting the
voices and memories of people, communities, and participants in past events. Oral history
is both the oldest type of historical inquiry, predating the written word, and one of the
most modern, initiated with tape recorders in the 1940s and now using 21st-century
digital technologies (Oral History Association of America, 2009).
Project Description
Instead of taking a final exam, you will have a final project, which you will turn in and
present on the last day of the course, May 21. Your oral history project consists of two
parts: a PowerPoint presentation of your findings and a written or recorded transcript of
your interview. I will provide you with a rubric and checklist.
Gathering Information for your oral history:
1. Before you begin, you must find someone, a family member, mentor, teacher, pastor,
or anyone you know who has lived through an important event in American history and
obtain permission to interview that person on their experiences.
2. You must then create an informed list of questions to ask this person, and conduct a
formal interview. You must either record the interview using videotape or a tape
recorder, or you must write down all questions and answers to create a written transcript
of the interview. You will use the information from your recording or transcript to
construct your PowerPoint presentation.
Topic Ideas:
The Civil Rights Movement
Vietnam War
World War II
The Great Depression
The Korean War
The Cold War
The 1950s, 60s, or 70s
The war in Iraq
Guidelines for Interview:
- Your interview must contain at least 20 questions and answers. Do not answer
questions that solicit a simple “yes” or “no” answer. Put some thought into your
questions and ask ones that are detailed enough to solicit a compelling response.
For instance, instead of asking “Was the Civil Rights movement an important
time?” say instead, “Do you remember seeing Civil Rights demonstrations on
television. If so, how did seeing these images such as MLK’s “I Have a Dream”
speech impact you?”
- You must provide a transcript of your interview. You may deliver the transcript
in one of three forms. You may show me a video recording of your interview,
play a tape recording of you interview, or provide a type-written transcript of you
interview. You may check out a video camera from the media center if you
choose to film your interview. If you choose to turn in a written transcript, it must
be typed in 12 point font, Times New Roman.
- Everyone must also create a PowerPoint presentation and present it to the class on
May 21. The PowerPoint must include at least 10 slides, and the font may be no
larger than 32 point and no smaller than 18 point. Your PowerPoint should
include background information about your topic, details about your interview,
and images related to your interview topic. For instance, if you are interviewing
someone on The Vietnam War, you might insert images of that person you’re
interviewing into the PowerPoint as well as photographs of the Vietnam War.
Google Images is a great source for photographs on almost any topic.
- When you present your project, you are expected to share what you learned
through conducting an oral history, and be prepared to answer any questions I, or
anyone else in the class has.
You must clear you topic with me by May 3!