Overview
“First and foremost, oral histories can serve as content resources for students. Oral history interviews can provide richer and fuller accounts of important historical events than textbooks and other traditional sources can offer because of the interviews’ personal nature. Not only do oral history interviews give voice to perspectives that are often underrepresented in traditional curricula, but they expose students to valuable firsthand accounts that expand upon and complicate the typical third-person “objective” narrative found in conventional curricula.” (Ford & Holman, 2016)
Strategies
Invite Students to Choose Local, Personally Relevant Topics
Oral history projects and assignments give students the opportunity to engage with valuable and unique primary sources. Using these resources affords students the opportunity to apply analytical and critical thinking skills to the oral histories they study, as well as their own communities and personal experiences.
References
- Dr. Paul Ortiz (University of Florida): Oral History Tutorials
- Oral History Association: How Can I Use Oral History as an Educator?
- Oral History Association: How Do I Engage Students in Oral History Projects?
- Edsitement: Oral History as an Educational Experience
- Library of Congress: Using Primary Sources
- Alex Ford & Devin Holman (Southern Oral History Program): Oral History in the Classroom
- Dominique A. Tobbell (2016): Teaching with Oral Histories (.pdf)
- Pattie Dillon (2000): Teaching the Past Through Oral History (.pdf)
- Karen Horn (2014): Oral History in the Classroom: Clarifying the Context Through Historical Understanding (.pdf)