intro to oral history
Covering the origins of oral history practice in the United States, from radical movement-building to formal archives, this workshop will provide a solid footing in the interdisciplinary origins of long-form interviewing, and the diverse ways oral history is practiced today. We will discuss researching and planning for interviews, methods and formats of recording, considerations for archiving interview materials, and basic tips on conducting interviews. Practical introductory resources will be provided, as well as standard best practices.
project design
Interview-based projects have a lot of components: ethical guidelines, outreach, funding, procedures establishing copyright and ownership, extensive research and preparation, technical needs––and most of all, the people you interview. It can be hard to know where to start and what you might be overlooking or overthinking. In this workshop, we will focus on how to design projects that are fruitful, expansive, and foster good community relations, whether your project feels like a distant fantasy, or is already in the works. This workshop can be catered to academic/research settings, museums/archives, or creative and community contexts, as well as for projects that rely on archival sources.
advanced interviewing techniques
Anyone can be a good interviewer, but with even a few tips––and especially with practice––you can make dramatic improvements. We will focus on building techniques in a number of areas, including listening, holding space, and accepting silence, as well as strategic research, creating outlines, and developing your questions on the fly. This workshop typically includes time for participants to take part in group listening exercises, and to practice interview techniques with each other.
budgeting
Co-developed and co-taught with multi-skilled practitioner, Jess Lamar Reece Holler, this workshop address the question of how to budget interview-based projects. Taking the approach that fair and equitable pay for the labor of cultural work is an essential foundation for any successful social justice project, this workshop provides practical guidance and exercises for designing budgets with a commitment to reparative practice. This workshop is recommended for anyone undertaking projects with marginalized and exploited communities, first-time oral history budgeters, and folks looking to break out of a scarcity mindset.
oral history in k-12 classrooms
Using oral history in K-12 settings can be a method to build knowledge, practice listening skills, and engage in cross-disciplinary storytelling. It can also help kids find their voice, and express their identity and heritage on their own terms, and in their preferred languages. This workshop, which can be catered based on student age and classroom resources, provides examples of how to use oral history in different subject areas as well as in extra-curricular activities and media projects, and includes sample curricula and resources.