Assignments

Oral History Assignment

Professor Lisa Krissoff Boehm

Conduct an oral history of approximately one to one-and-one-half hours with a woman who is “active” in the community of Worcester using the questions formulated in class as your general guidelines. Follow the oral history directions on the hand-out. Write a thank you letter to your respondent. Include a copy of the thank you letter with your finished paper. (Hand-written thank you notes are best.) Fully transcribe the interview, and turn in along with your original tape, release forms, and deed of gift.

It will be up to you to ask insightful questions of your interviewee. No one has a boring, unimportant life. However, you will not be graded on the story of the interviewee herself, but on your transcription and overall presentation.

Your transcription will be the entire interview, so it will vary in length.

Write up a brief presentation of the findings of your interview. Presentations will be made in class on the assigned days.

Oral History Interview Questions

Basically we would like to learn about your life history, concentrating on your activities in the community. We have lots of questions written down but really want you to tell us what is important and what we need to know. Let us know what is important.

Where and when were you born?

(How did you come to live here if you were not born here?)

Tell me about your family? How many brothers and sisters did you have, if any?
What kind of work were they in, primarily? What kinds of work did your parents do?

Did you grow up in Worcester? In which neighborhood?

(What was your first impression of Worcester? How does it differ from where you’ve come from?)

What are your earliest memories of your neighborhood?

What was the neighborhood like generally?

Where do you live in the city now? Have you lived in multiple areas?

Do other family members live in the area?

Did you receive your education here? Where (and what if you attended college) did you study?

Do you have hobbies or do any regular leisure activities that take you outside of the home?

When you are not at home, where do you usually find yourself?

If you worked outside of the home for wages, when did you begin working and what did you do?

How did you learn how to do this work?

How did you come to do this work?

What kind of people did you work with/for?

Have you been involved in volunteer work (or paid work for a non-profit or similar organization)?

What groups did you work with/for?

What led you to join with this organization?

What were the organization’s main goals?

What were some of the main programs/initiatives that you worked on?

What would the work consist of?

What would you consider the group’s major accomplishments?

Were you involved with other organizations?

What impact has Worcester had on you as an individual, and you on Worcester?

What challenges does this city still face?/What would you improve about the city?

What do you think we should do to confront these challenges?

What changes have occurred in Worcester over time?

What are the major events that have happened in Worcester during your time here?

What distinct characteristics make Worcester the place that it is?

How do you get through tough times? What kinds of thoughts keep you going?
           
Tell us about your own family, children and husband, if any, nieces, nephews.

What type of work did your husband do, if you were married?

Now that we are working to tell a fuller story of the past of women than has been recorded previously, what should we be sure to include?

What do you think women’s experiences have been like generally in Worcester?

Other things you would like to add?

ORAL HISTORY PROJECT

BIO SHEET

Name:_____________________________________

Date: _______________

Address: ___________________________________

______________________

Phone: ___________________________ 

Email: ________________________________       

Date of birth: _________________  

Birthplace: ____________________________

Children: Yes  /  No    (If yes)

How many? _____________

Grandchildren: Yes  /  No      

(If yes)How many? _____________

Marital status:             Single             Married

            Separated           Divorced

What (if any) other names have you used?

_____________________________________

Husband’s/partner’s name (if applicable):

_______________________________________

Mother’s name:

__________________________________________

Mother’s birthplace:

__________________________________________

Father’s name:

__________________________________________

Father’s birthplace:

__________________________________________

Siblings: # brothers ____  # sisters ____ 

Where you fall in the order: ________________

Racial/ethnic background:

__________________________________________

Religious affiliation (if applicable):

__________________________________________

Current employer (if applicable):

__________________________________________

 

_________________________________  

Interviewer     

____________________________________

Affiliation

Oral History Project

INFORMED CONSENT

1. I hereby agree to participate in an interview in connection with ______________________. I understand that I will be asked about _______________________________.

2. The interview will be audiotaped. In the interview I may be identified by name, subject to my consent. I may also be identified by name in any transcript (whether verbatim or edited) of such interview, subject to my consent.

3. I understand that the interview will take approximately ____ hours and that I can withdraw from the project without prejudice prior to the execution and delivery of a deed of gift, a form of which is attached hereto. In the event that I withdraw from the interview, any tape made of the interview will be either given to me or destroyed, and no transcript will be made of the interview.

4. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 5 below, I understand that, upon completion of the interview, the tape and content of the interview belong to ____________________ and that the information in the interview can be used by them in any manner they will determine, including, but not limited to, use by researchers in presentations and publications and on websites.

5. All parties agree that: (i) no one will use or exercise any of their rights to the information in the interview prior to the signing of the deed of gift, (ii) the deed of gift will be submitted to me for my signature at completion of the interviews; and (iii) restrictions on the use of the interview can be placed in the deed of gift and will be accepted as amending rights to the content of the interview. I understand that I have the right to review the tape or transcript of the interview before I sign the deed of gift.

6. Any restrictions as to use of portions of the tape will be edited out of the final copy of the transcript.

7. I understand that at the conclusion of this particular study and upon signing the deed of gift, the tape and a copy of the transcript will be donated to ________________ and/or another academic collection for academic use by other researchers.

8. If I have questions about the research project or procedures, I know I can contact ________________________.

 

_____ I may be identified by name in any transcript or reference to any information contained in this interview.

_____ I wish to remain anonymous in any transcript or reference to any information contained in this interview.

Interviewer
______________________________            _____________________________ ____________________________
Name                                                   Signature                                 Date

Interviewee
______________________________            _____________________________ ____________________________
Name                                                   Signature                                 Date
______________________________

______________________________
Address
______________________________
Phone                                                  

_______________________________
E-mail                                                 

Copyright 1999, The Trustees of Indiana University

Oral History Project

DEED OF GIFT

(a) I, ____________________________________, hereby give to _______________ for scholarly and educational use the recordings of interview(s) conducted with me on _______________________, and I grant to ___________________ all of the rights I possess in those recordings, including all intellectual property rights. I understand that ______________________ grant me nonexclusive license to make and to authorize others to make any use of the content of those recordings, and that they will, at my request, make available a copy of those recordings for such use.

(b) If I wish to remain anonymous in any interview transcript or reference to any information contained in this interview, I will indicate this restriction in paragraph (c) below.

(c) The foregoing gift and grant of rights is subject to the following restrictions:

 

This agreement may be revised or amended by mutual consent of the parties undersigned.

Accepted by:

Interviewer
_______________________    __________________________        ______________________
Name                                     Signature                                                    Affiliation

Interviewee
____________________________   _____________________________  
Name                                                   Signature                                        
______________________________

______________________________

Address

_________________________         ________________________ 

Oral History Assignment Analysis

Last name:
First name:

Oral Presentation
__Very Good
__Sufficient
__Did Not Complete

Thank You Letter
__Included
__Did Not Include

Informed Consent Form
__Included
__Did Not Include

Deed of Gift Form
__Included
__Did Not Include

Transcription
__Followed Guidelines Closely
__Some Slight Deviation from Guidelines
__Deviations from Guidelines
__Follow Guidelines More Closely
__Edit Transcript More Carefully for Spelling, Grammar, etc.

Interview
__Conducted Carefully
__Seems Slightly too Short
__Interview Seems too Short/Dig Deeper with your Subject 
__Ask More Follow-up Questions
__Could have Conducted More Carefully

GRADE: