Oral History: The Craft of a Historian

Oral History: The Craft of a Historian is a Social Science course taught by Lili M. Kim.

Course Description
How do we write about the histories and experiences of those who are not privileged to have their written words preserved and published? Oral history is one of the most important and potentially empowering tools for historians in crafting a narrative of ordinary as well as marginalized people in society, such as immigrants and migrants, whose experiences do not get documented, are not written about, and cannot be found in an archival collection. This course examines the art and politics of oral history as well as theories and methods of conducting oral history interviews. In doing so, we will explore topics such as the problem of memory, shared authority between the interviewer and the interviewee in interpretations, the art of dialogue and storytelling, and the incorporation of oral history interviews into a larger historical narrative. In this hands-on course, we will engage in the entire process of conducting and producing oral-history based histories. We will read historical works that centrally use oral history as a methodology, in addition to conducting your oral history interview project. Students will be encouraged to integrate community-based oral histories as part of their oral history project. This course is recommended for students who are interested in incorporating oral history as part of their Division II concentrations and Division III research projects.