Oral History Method Practice

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

ARST 4452 introduces oral history methodologies and practices for recording, interpreting and preserving voices and memories of individuals and communities. This seminar offers a balance of theory and practice, with a focus on practical exercises and case studies by practitioners from the Middle East/SWANA and diasporas. Oral history epistemologies - whether academic, community-based or even intimate family portraits - involve considerable research and preparation, interviewing, preservation and the responsibilities that come with making vulnerable people's stories accessible to a variety of audiences. An oral history project may be intended for archival preservation and research, organizing and activism, or towards creation of a product: film, print publication or museum exhibit. During this course, you will be challenged ethically and creatively while selecting interviewees, conducting and recording interviews, editing and disseminating your work. You will consider how your own positionality impacts the stories you choose to investigate, facilitate and share. Final projects will result in one of the following: journalistic essay, documentary short, podcast, gallery exhibit, poetry, fiction or handcrafted object. Intended for MAAS students preparing for fieldwork or other interview-based projects, but welcoming to all undergraduates and PhDs with passionate interest in the topic.