HUM 303 Oral History Project Planning

In this course, you will cultivate the skills required to design an ethically-guided oral history project. You will reflect on what you hope to learn from your project and build a plan that satisfies your goals. You will develop interview strategies, prepare for your first encounters with potential narrators, and review the Formal Agreement (or Release Forms) needed to conduct oral history interviews.

Learning Objectives

This course will empower you to

  • Design an oral history project and plan for its organization, accountability and ethical integrity;
  • Recognize the necessary components of Formal Agreements (or Release Form) and learn about informed consent;
  • Prepare an interview guide and identify and secure interviewees; and
  • Conduct pre-interviews and background research.

Contributors

Dr. Tiffany Puett

Executive Director
Institute for Diversity and Civic Life

Dr. Elizabeth M. Melton

ACLS Leading Edge Fellow
American Council of Learned Societies and the Institute for Diversity and Civic Life

Eleonora Anedda MA

Oral Historian
Institute for Diversity and Civic Life

Van Wagner

Community Archive Director
Institute for Diversity and Civic Life

Rimsha N. Syed

Program Coordinator
Institute of Diversity and Civic Life

Civic Education for the Common Good

We adhere to the best practices outlined by the Oral History Association.

In our research and curriculum design, we apply the four key elements of oral history work:
▸ Preparation
▸ Interviewing
▸ Preservation, and
▸ Access.

We apply the U.S. Department of Education’s Consensus Statements about Constitutional Approaches for Teaching about Religion

▸ Our approach to religion is academic, not devotional;
▸ We strive for student awareness of religions, but do not press for student acceptance of any religion;
▸ We sponsor the study about religion, not the practice of religion;
▸ We expose students to a diversity of religious views, but may not impose any particular view;
▸ We educate about all religions, we do not promote or denigrate any religion;
▸ We inform students about religious beliefs and practices, it does not seek to conform students to any particular belief or practice.

We apply the American Academy of Religion’s “Religious Literacy Guidelines”

▸ “Religious Literacy Guidelines for College Students.” American Academy of Religion, 2019.
▸ “Teaching About Religion: AAR Guidelines for K-12 Public Schools.” American Academy of Religion, April 2010.

Special Thanks

The Institute for Diversity and Civic Life’s certificate in oral history for social change was made possible by the generous support of the Henry Luce Foundation and the American Council of Learned Societies. Onboarding and technical support came from the staff of ReligionAndPublicLife.org, thanks to funding from 1791 Delegates, The Foundation for Religious Literacy, and the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations.

The continuation of this work depends on contributions from generous supporters like you. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to the Institute for Diversity and Civic Life, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization (EIN 47-3265073).