UPCOMING EVENTS
92 Talks: History in YOUR back YARD
From Wallabout Bay to the End of Her Rope A Brooklynite’s Valentine Turns to Bloody Revenge Thursday, February 2, 6:30pm
Oral History Workshop Series
The Archives and Public History Program invites you to participate in a series of Oral History Workshops Thursday February 9th, 16th and 23rd from 5-7pm. This program is specifically geared toward graduate students planning on working with oral history methods in their dissertations or theses. Graduate students in History, Public History, Archives, Museum Studies, American Studies, Sociology, and Anthropology are especially encouraged to attend.
The sessions will be led by Sady Sullivan, Oral Historian at the Brooklyn Historical Society. Participants should come prepared to talk about a few short readings. All sessions will be held in the conference room at Fales Library & Special Collections, Bobst Library.
Please RSVP if you wish to attend the sessions by emailing aph.nyu@gmail.com with your name, year, and department. Enrollment is limited to 20 people, so sign up early!
Session 1: Intro to Oral History, Thursday, February 9
This introduction to the field of oral history will present theory and methodology through a discussion of the history of oral history; the strengths, weaknesses and peculiarities of oral history as evidence; reliability of memory; and how to use existing oral history collections (audio v. transcript), including examples of archives/collections with different levels of accessibility.
Session 2: Doing Oral History, Thursday, February 16
For students who are interested in conducting their own oral history projects, this session will focus on the practical issues of doing oral history: project planning, interviewing skills (how oral history interviewing is different from journalism, social sciences, documentary film, normal conversation), release forms, navigating the IRB, technological tools and equipment, choosing an archival repository and the importance of archival descriptions and accessibility – how to make sure your collection is usable by future generations.
Session 3: Ethical Issues in Oral History Thursday, February 23
Whether using an existing oral history collection or building your own, there are many ethical considerations to keep in mind at all stages, from interviewing to writing/exhibiting, to choosing an archival repository. Issues to be discussed: interpersonal dynamics in interviews, positionality, sharing authority with narrators, reciprocity/ restitution, confidentiality/anonymity/privacy, sharing interpretation, oral history as empowerment, oral history and documenting social movements, oral history and movement building.
92 Talks: Tools and Talent
Mapping History: 400 Years in 5 Minutes Thursday, March 1st 6:30pm