Oral History Project: “Three Generations of Women in My Family” (300 points)
This project is designed to give you a chance to discover a composite picture of your own identity in
which the ties to the past we often ignore or never knew will be made clear. You will research the
sentiments and experiences of women who are close to you – you can explain in your project proposal
how you define “family.” The subjects of research (who will undergo oral interviews and have their
photographs taken) will be up to you. You will describe the relationships of these women to you in your
proposal which is due October 1st. With the training and supervision of the University of Kentucky
Oral History Program, we hope to create a Foxfire-type magazine that will be placed in the Lexington
Community College Library and on the WS website. The UK Oral History Program may also choose to
house your tapes and eventually to create transcripts of the interview!
Steps To Follow To Complete A Successful Oral History Project:
1.
The general topic that all projects will center around is the description of three generations of
women in a particular family. There are several subtopics you could focus on in your project, and
these could be determined from any one of the 5 Guiding Themes of Women’s Studies.
2.
Once you have chosen which three women you wish to study and which subtopics you wish to
highlight in your questions, look in traditional primary and secondary sources (e.g., books,
newspapers, pamphlets, artifacts) from the community, schools, government publications, and
libraries to see if appropriate research information is available. If not, select another interview
focus. Write all research sources on a Note Topic Card in the following format:
TOPIC RESEARCHED
Book Call #
or Contact Ph #
INSTITUTION
Resource Name or Author & Title
& Bibliographic Info
1. Main Point
a. date, place and important people
b. interesting detail or image to use in interview
2. Main Point
a. (etc........)
continue on back of card, but only one card per resource
3.
Then develop a question outline based on the research, and include the name, age, and relationship
of your proposed interviewee. If you are interviewing more than one person, you should have a
separate outline for each person. Certainly, you will need separate sets of research cards for each
of the three women. Put the outline and resource cards into a pocket folder and turn it in by
October 1st to receive 50 of the 300 points total.
4.
Become familiar with the processes of interviewing and the operation of the tape recorder by trial
runs with a team member; find a photographer if you do not have access to a camera. We will
have an official training session in class on September 8th.
5.
Build rapport with the interviewee and share information about the purpose of the interview, the
topics to be discussed, and make sure the individual has the information you need. Ask the
individual if she has any documents, artifacts or pictures which would assist the interview, your
research and may be potential subjects to photograph. Set an interview date.
6.
During the semester you will conduct at least two interviews (after the training session) and take
photographs. If you are interviewing more than one person, be sure to interview them separately.
Make sure the interviewee signs a legal agreement, and put a copy in your project folder.
7.
Work with me, the Writing Center, and your team member(s) to produce a creative and interesting
essay (5-8 pages) and photographs for publication.
8.
Hand in final product (tape, essay, photos and project folder with note cards, and self-evaluation)
by December 16th, for the remaining 250 points.
***** Oral History Project Self Evaluation *****
Evaluate your own work on this project by answering the following questions:
1. Is the interviewee a reliable (dependable and trustworthy) source of information?
2. Did the interviewee have a difficult time remembering different items under discussion? If so, how
did the interviewee's memory influence the interview?
3. Is the factual information in the interview valid? (Check for accuracy by comparing to other primary
and secondary sources.)
4. Were the questions asked in the interview meaningful for the interviewee?
5. Did the interview elicit meaningful information related to the topic under investigation?
6. Did I produce a high quality cassette tape recording? photographs?
7. Was the interview a positive experience for the interviewee? for me?
8. In what ways was the oral history experience a success? In what ways could it have been improved?