An Introduction to Oral History

This week, I will begin work on a new internship project: transcribing an oral history interview!  While I've worked with archival collections that included oral histories, this is my first experience formally transcribing them.  I've always found oral history to be a particularly fascinating component of public history work, and had been hoping to gain additional experience with it through my UCF History MA coursework and public history internships.  

An oral history, for those who aren't familiar with the term, is "an interview that records an individual's personal recollections of the past and historical events... [or] "the audio or video recordings, transcripts, and other materials that capture and are associated with such an interview." (1)  These records are particularly important in researching, documenting, and interpreting the history of what public historians call underrepresented populations, which are individuals and groups whose stories are often missing from the historical record, particularly people of color, women, the LGBTQ community, and lower-income groups.  

For example, during the Great Depression, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted a series of oral history interviews in 1937-1939 with formerly enslaved individuals, which are known as the Slave Narratives Collection. (2) This was one of the first broad efforts to document the perspectives of enslaved people, whose stories and recollections are often missing from the historical records that largely had been created, collected, and preserved by white, wealthy families, corporations, and institutions.  (It should be noted that the project had its own issues, such as the fact that most of the interviewers were white, and many formerly enslaved people may not have felt able to speak freely about their experiences to a white interviewer.)  

Some oral history interviews are recorded solely via audio, while others include video.  The Oral History Association provides a very helpful list of best practices for conducting and preserving oral history interviews here, which includes guidelines and advice for interviewers and those seeking to develop an oral history program. (3) 

Like the interviews themselves, oral history transcripts typically follow a standardized format, with some components unique to each holding repository, but generally following a similar style.  Each transcript usually begins with metadata including the date, location, and participants of the interview; a brief abstract summary of the interview content; and a biographical sketch of the interviewee.  Some repositories may include additional metadata such as subject headings, or boilerplate language about copyright.  

The transcript itself is a complete record of  sound that the the interviewer(s) and participant(s) makes during the interview, down to every last cough, "uh," "um," blown nose, and chuckle.  The transcription process has made me hyper-aware of the interstitial sounds I make during conversations!

Geoff Cravero (RICHES Program Assistant) and Dr. Connie Lester (RICHES Director) conducted the interview that I'm transcribing last summer, and have described it as one of the most interesting interviews they've ever done!  I am very much looking forward to learning more about pioneering scuba diver and underwater videographer Jordan Klein, who won an Academy Award for his work, and is a member of the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame.  I will report back next week on everything I've discovered!

 (4)

1) "Oral History." In Richard Pearce-Moses, A Glossary of Archival and Records Terminology, 279. Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 2005.


3) Oral History Association. "Best Practices." https://www.oralhistory.org/best-practices/.

4) International Legends of Diving. "Jordan Klein, Camera Housing Manufacturer, Movie Mogul, Cinematographer, and Entrepreneur."   http://www.internationallegendsofdiving.com/FeaturedLegends/Jordan_Klein_bio.htm.


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