Instructor: Michael A. Gordon
               UWM History Department, Holton 346
 Spring 2000
         Office Hours: Tues. and Thurs., 2:00-3:30 P.M.
Phone: 229-4314
 Fax: 229-2435
    e-mail: mgordon@uwm.edu

NOTE: If you have a disability, please let me know early in the semester if there are ways that I can help to meet your needs.
 
 
 

Here are some useful links:

 Oral History Association
 Center for History and New Media
 Southern Oral History Program
 University of Connecticut Center for Oral History
 Oral History Review
 Hogan Jazz Archive at Tulane University
 Holocaust Memorial Musem Oral History Program
 Institute of American Indian Studies
 Institute of Oral History at Univ. Texas-El Paso
 John F. Kennedy Library Oral History Project
 Oral History on Space, Science and Technology, The National Air and Space  Museum
Oral History Program, Utah State University
Oral History Project, University of Alaska
Oral History Research Center, Indiana University
Regional History Project, University of California, Santa Cruz
Regional Oral History Office, University of California, Berkeley
Will the Circle be Unbroken: Oral History of the Civil Rights Movement, Southern Regional Council

Oral History Discussion List

            H-Oralhist is the oral history discussion list. To subscribe to
               the H-Oralhist send a message to: listserv@h-net.msu.edu
               with no subject and with the following text:

               SUBSCRIBE H-ORALHIST firstname lastname affiliation

Course Description
Oral history, a complicated and sometimes puzzling process,  is often defined as the
collection, interpretation, and preservation of spoken remembrances about a person's life, the
people he or she knew, and the events he or she witnessed and/or participated in.  While oral
evidence must be analyzed just as carefully as other kinds of evidence, oral history can help to
democratize the reconstruction of history by enabling historians and others to gain access to the
thoughts and perceptions of ordinary people who leave few other records of their lives.  Indeed,
perhaps the chief value of oral history lies in its capacity to furnish details and perceptions about
people and events that are not available in written sources.  Equally important is the opportunity
oral history provides for historians and citizens to develop what Michael Frisch calls a "shared
authority" in the interpretation of oral evidence.

 This course will explore the purpose, value, theory, method and achievement of oral
history.  It is intended to provide graduate students in history, library science, anthropology,
sociology, and other fields with opportunities to become familiar with theoretical and practical
issues in collecting, interpreting, and preserving oral remembrances.  Students also will gain
experience in conducting, processing, and interpreting their own interviews.

Course Objectives

     1.   To acquire and demonstrate an understanding of the theory and method of oral history.

     2.   To acquire and demonstrate proficiency in conducting, interpreting, and processing
     (abstracting and transcribing) an oral history interview.

     3.   To acquire an understanding of the nature and function of individual and collective
     memory, and of their roles in shaping oral testimony.

     4.   To develop and demonstrate analytical and critical judgment in evaluating eyewitness and
     hearsay historical testimony.

Course Requirements

Students are expected to master the required readings, and to participate in discussion.
There also are other requirements:

               1.    An oral history interview.  Students will conduct one life-history interview with a
                      relative or friend, that focuses heavily on childhood experiences but includes
                      adolescence and adulthood as well.  If you and your interviewee consent, this
                      interview may become part of a new project on childhood in Milwaukee conducted
                      by Marquette University Professor James A. Marten.  The interview must be
                      transcribed. The class will listen to and evaluate a selected 15-minute portion of
                      each interview during the last three weeks.

                    First drafts of question sets should be completed by March 2. Interviews should be
                     completed by March 30. Transcripts are due on May 11.

               2.    A critical analysis of the readings for February 10 and 17, which focus on the
                      limitations of human memory, and on the problems of interpreting memory.

                                        Length: 7-10 pages.  Due: March 9.

               3.    A critical analysis of the issues raised in readings for April 6, which concern
                      advocacy and empowerment.

                                        Length: 3-5 pages.  Due April 6.
 

Criteria for Evaluating Student Work

Class Participation

You are expected to attend class regularly, to have read assignments before coming to class, and
to participate in discussions about reading assignments and issues and questions raised by class
members.  By attending class “regularly” I mean that you will be best prepared to conduct oral
history interviews if you attend every class.  Period.  Yet I do realize that illness and other
unavoidable life incidents occasionally require people to miss class.  I will not take attendance, nor
do I need to know the reason for absences.  I assume that if people miss class they must have a
pressing need to do so.  I also assume that people who do not attend class will find out what they
missed.

Participating in discussions means that you should contribute ideas, understandings, and
questions about class topics that help to clarify and advance the subject under discussion.  What
you say in class should reveal a sound understanding of  the readings and other course material..
You should feel free to question, defend, and criticize any aspect of course content.  If you do not
understand what you read or what others say in class, please ask for clarification.  Overall, your
class participation will be evaluated by the quality of your participation, not by how frequently
you talk.

Oral History Interview

The oral history interview will be evaluated by how well it reflects a good beginning
understanding of the theory and methodology of oral history that is covered in course content.
Because this is the first interview that many of you will conduct, I will not evaluate your work by
the same standards that would apply to experienced interviewers. Yet I do insist that the interview
itself,  and all activities before and after the interview, conform to the standards established by the
Oral History Association (which are available on-line via the Web syllabus).   In evaluating your
interview, I will be especially mindful of the following:

               1.   The Question Set
                         A.   The question set must be typed; it should be well-organized and designed
                                to elicit specific information as well as expansive responses that may reveal
                                aspects of the interviewees’ values, beliefs, and opinions.
                         B.   The questions should provide broad coverage of life experiences (especially
                                during childhood).

               2.   Documentation
                     The final packet must include the following:
                                   1.   Cassette copy of audio interview, with cassettes labeled according
                                          instructions given in class.
                                   2.   Verbatim transcription of interview prepared according instructions
                                         given in class.
                                   3.   Original copies of Informed Consent Form and interviewee legal
                                          release form.
                                   4.   The question set used for the interview (which may not necessarily
                                         be the set submitted on March 2).
                                   5.   Copies of letters that were sent before the interview which confirm
                                         details of the interview,  and which were sent after the interview
                                         thanking the interviewee for granting the interview.

               3.   The Recorded Interview.

                    These are some of the questions I will have in mind as I listen carefully to the
                    interviews:

                                   1.   Are questions asked clearly, one-at-a-time, and in logical sequence?
                                   2.   Does the interviewer listen carefully and ask appropriate follow-up
                                         questions?
                                   3.   Relatedly, does the interviewer probe for further details and
                                         clarification?
                                   4.   Does the interviewer move the interview along smoothly in an
                                         informal, conversational manner?
                                   5.   Does the interviewer elicit relevant details about life experiences as
                                         well as the interviewees’ opinions about those experiences?
                                   6.   Is the interviewer courteous and respectful?  Does she/he interrupt
                                         or cut off the interviewee?
                                   7.   How does the interviewer appear to make use of the question set?
                                         Does he/she seem beholden to the question set mechanically
                                         without taking probing into interested but unexpected areas that
                                         arise in the interview?
                                   8.   Is the sound quality good? Can the voices be heard adequately?
                                   9.   Does the interviewer reveal good judgment in allocating time for
                                         various parts of the interview?
                                   10.  Does the interviewer begin and end the interview in ways that are
                                         designed to encourage the interviewee to be relaxed and expansive?
                                   11.  Generally, and finally, does the interviewer reveal that she/he has
                                          internalized some of the important elements of good interview
                                          technique–even as a first interview?
 

Papers on Readings for Feb. 10 and 17, and for April 6

In these papers, you should identify and discuss what seem to be the main issues raised by the
authors concerning memory (for the first paper), and using oral history for advocacy and
empowerment (for the second).  In each case, lay out the issues clearly and then give your own
views on the subjects.

Grading

 We will negotiate a method for determining grades for this course.  You must participate
in this process by writing a self-assessment of your work.  In the assessment, which should be no
longer than two pages, please evaluate what you have learned from this course in relation to the
amount of work you have invested in preparing for class and for the writing assignments.
 

Required Core Books(in bookstore and on reserve)

          Paul Thompson, The Voice of the Past:  Oral History, 2nd ed.  Oxford:  Oxford
          University Press, 1988.

          Alessandro Portelli, The Death of Luigi Trastulli and Other Stories:  Form and Meaning
          in Oral History.  Albany, NY:  State University of New York Press, 1991.

          Alessandro Portelli, The Battle of Valle Giulia: Oral History and the Art of Dialogue.
          Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1997.

          Valerie Raleigh Yow, Recording Oral History: A Practical Guide for Social Scientists.
          Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 1994.

          John Neuenschwander, Oral History and the Law, rev. ed.  Oral History Association
          pamphlet. .

          Robert Perks and Alistair Thomson, eds., The Oral History Reader.  London: Routledge,
          1998.
 
 

                                                               CLASS MEETINGS

          1/27      ORGANIZATIONAL

          2/3       NATURE, HISTORY, AND ACHIEVEMENT OF ORAL HISTORY
                 Assignment
                         1.   Paul Thompson, Voice of the Past, chaps. 1-3.
                         2.   Valerie Row, Recording Oral History, chap. 1.
                         3.   Alessandro Portelli, The Death of Luigi Trastulli and Other Stories,
                               chap . 3.
                         4    Alessandro Portelli, The Battle of Valle Giulia , Introduction, chaps. 1-2.
                         5.   Robert Perks,  Alistair Thomson, eds., The Oral History Reader, Part 1
                               (except chaps. 2 and 6).
                         6.   Read and report on one recent issue (1987-present) of The Oral History
                               Review.
                         7.   Read and report on one oral history section published every fall since
                               September 1987 in the Journal of American History.
                         8.   Charles Hardy III & Alessandro Portelli,  "I Can Almost See the  Lights of Home:
                               A Field Trip to Harlan County, Kentucky," The Journal
                               of Multimedia History, II (1999).
 

          2/10      THE PROBLEM OF MEMORY
                 Assignment
                      1.   Perks and Thomson, eds., The Oral History Reader, Part 4.

          2/17      MEMORY AND EVIDENCE
                 Assignment
                         1.   Portelli, The Death of Luigi Trastuli, chaps. 1,4-7.
                         2.   Thompson, The Voice of the Past, chaps. 4-5.

          2/24      THEORY AND METHOD I: PREPARING FOR THE INTERVIEW
                 Assignment
                         1.   Yow, Recording Oral History, chap. 2 and Appendix A.
                         2.   Thompson, The Voice of the Past, chap. 6 and “Model Questions”
                               (pp.  269-306).

          3/2       THEORY AND METHOD II: THE INTERVIEW
                 Assignment
                         1.   Thompson, Voice of the Past, chap. 7.
                         2.   Yow, Recording Oral History, chaps. 3 and 5.
                         3.   Perks and Thomson, The Oral History Reader, Part 2.
                         4.   Portelli, The Battle of Valle Giulia, chap. 6.

                                        Due: First draft of question sets.

          3/9       REVISIONS OF QUESTION SETS

                     Individual conferences to discuss question sets.

                        Due:  Paper on memory and evidence.

          3/16      LEGAL AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS IN ORAL HISTORY
                 Assignment
                         1.   Yow, Recording Oral History, chap. 4, Appendixes B and F.
                         2.   Portelli, The Battle of Valle Giulia, chap. 4.
                         3.   UWM Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects,
                              Protocol Packet.
                         4.   Michael Gordon, “Historians and review Boards,” Perspectives 35
                         5.   John Neuenschwander, Oral History and the Law, rev. ed.
                         6.   Oral History Association, Evaluation Guidelines (available online at:
                              http://www.dickinson.edu/organizations/oha/EvaluationGuidelines.html)
                         7..  Sample forms:
                                             A.   Human Subjects Protocol for Sherman Park "Common
                                                    Ground" Project.
                                             B.   Informed Consent Form.
                                             C.   Oral history interviewee and interviewer release forms.
                                             D.   Sample letters.

          3/23      SPRING BREAK: NO CLASS

          3/30      PROCESSING THE INTERVIEW:  ABSTRACTING, TRANSCRIBING,
                          AND PRESERVING ORAL MEMOIRS
                    Assignment
                         1.   Thompson, Voice of the Past, chap. 8.
                         2.   Yow, Recording Oral History, chap. 9, and Appendixes C, D, and E.

          4/6       ADVOCACY AND EMPOWERMENT
                 Assignment:
                         1.   Perks and Thomson, The Oral History Reader, Part 3.
                         2.   Portelli, The Battle of Valle Giulia, Part 3.
                         3.   Portelli, The Death of Luigi Trastuli, chap. 2.

                               Due:  Paper on advocacy and empowerment.

          4/13      PROJECTS
                 Assignment
                         1.   Yow, Recording Oral History, chaps. 6-8.

          4/20      MAKING HISTORY FROM ORAL HISTORIES
                 Assignment
                         1.   Perks and Thomson, The Oral History Reader, Part 5.
                         2.   Portelli, The Battle of Valle Giulia, Part 2.

          4/27      LISTENING TO AND ANALYZING STUDENT INTERVIEWS

      5/4       LISTENING TO AND ANALYZING STUDENT INTERVIEWS

          5/11      LISTENING TO AND ANALYZING STUDENT INTERVIEWS

                           DUE: ALL INTERVIEWS, ABSTRACTS, AND
                               TRANSCRIPTS