Oral History Project

For this assignment, you will interview somebody who can speak specifically to race,
immigration, gender, sexuality, and/or class as these categories relate to U.S.
history. You can interview somebody in your family (grandparents, aunts and uncles,
parents, etc.), an older family friend, somebody in politics, somebody who has been
involved in movements for social justice, somebody who made music or sports
history, etc. Here’s an example. Say you are interested in the history of
immigration. You might go a couple of different routes. You could interview a
member of your own family or a friend about their experiences with immigration. Or
you can find somebody who has been involved in organizing migrant justice or
immigration reform either currently or sometime in the past few decades.

This oral history assignment has multiple parts and is worth 33 points of your final
grade. The oral history plan is worth five (5) points and written analysis and short
presentation are worth 28 points.

Deadlines
Oral history plan is due on November 10. (5 pts.)
Oral history essay/analysis is due on December 8. (24 pts.)
Oral history video presentations are due December 8. (4 pts.)

Oral history plan

This oral history plan needs be at least two (2)-pages long and include the
following: 1) who you’re planning on interviewing and what themes you’re hoping
this person will speak to; 2) the date, time and place you plan to interview them if
the interview is already set up or steps you’ve already taken to reach out to them;
3) a list of 10-15 questions you plan to ask; 4) what readings (2-3 scholarly
resources and it can’t be a website) you might draw on to help you prepare for the
interview and write your analysis. This should be in MLA format. Due November
10th.

Oral History Analysis Essay

This should be 4-6 double spaced pages. Your analysis should be clearly written
and well structured (introduction; body paragraphs; conclusion). It should consist of
a summary and analysis of your interview, especially of the ways the experiences of
your interviewee relate to large historical events, time periods, and/or themes of the
course.

Essay needs to be in MLA format, one-inch margins, double-spaced, 12 point font,

Times New Roman Font, have two-three scholarly resources, and work cited page.
Due Sunday, December 8, 2024, at 11:59 pm. No exceptions will be made.

Oral History Video Presentation

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These are just five -ten (5-10) minutes long. They should consist of a quick
summary and a couple of analytical points about the larger historical significance of
the topics covered in the interview. Students will be presenting their oral history
assignment to the class via a video recording on Sunday, December 8, 2024, at
11:59 pm. No exceptions will be made.

Preparation for Interview

a. Be sure to arrange for a quiet place and an interview time when you will not be
interrupted. If you do the interview at a coffee shop, the background noise might
interfere and make it hard to hear everything said on the recording.

b. Make every effort to obtain a tape recorder (there’s usually one on smart
phones); having to take notes will interfere significantly with the flow of the
interview and may cause the interviewee to make his/her answers unnecessarily
brief.

c. When conducting the interview, make sure to start off by recording the date and
location of the interview, who you are, and who you are interviewing. Start off
with, “when and where were you born?” before moving onto broader questions.
This will give you their age and allow you to figure out dates along the way – for
example, if your interviewee says that they were 20 years old when they did
something and they were born in 1960, then you know they are talking about
1980.

d. Ask open-ended questions to get the person talking and try not to cut your
interviewee off.

e. Make sure you know how much time your interviewee has for the entire
interview. You don’t want the interview to be suddenly over before you’ve had a
chance to ask your important questions. It’s ok if you must skip some questions
if you’re running out of time, but make sure to get to your most important
questions.

f. Make sure to ask questions that address your interviewee’s specific experiences.
It’s often the case that the person being interviewed might start talking in
generalities about the period you’re asking about, and so they might need to be
prompted to be more specific.

g. Also make sure ask your interviewee to use their personal experiences to reflect
on broader historical issues. For instance, after your parent or grandparent
speaks to their specific experience immigrating from Vietnam in the 1970s, you
might ask them to then talk about what they think were the broader causes for
immigrating and how they think US immigration policy shaped their experience
once in the United States.

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h. Ask questions that relate the categories of race, immigration, gender, class, and
sexuality to each other. For instance, if you’re interviewing a woman of color
involved in anti-racist organizing, you might ask not only about their
experiences with racism, but also how sexism merges with racism to shape her
experiences. If you’re interviewing a man of color about antiracist organizing,
you might ask if he’s thought about sexism and how gender shapes his
organizing. If you’re interviewing a white man involved in anti-racist organizing,
you might ask how race and gender-based privileges have affected his
involvement in activism.

Grading
Oral History Assessment Rubric (28 points)
Criteria 4 3 2 1
Storytellin The narrative The narrative The narrative The write-up
g accurately accurately appears to inaccurately
portrays the portrays the portray the portrays the
story of the oral story of the oral story of the oral story of the oral
history subject. history subject. history subject. history subject.
Selections are Selections are The reader has The reader has
very wisely chosen well to insight into at little insight
chosen to reveal some of least one deep into anything
reveal the the deepest or powerful powerful that
deepest and and most moment in the occurred in the
most powerful powerful oral history. oral history.
moments in the moments in the
oral history. oral history.
Language Narrative is Narrative is Narrative is Narrative is
(voice, written in clear, written in written in written in
word easily somewhat clear somewhat confusing
choice, understood language that confusing language that
sentence language that is the author’s language that sometimes
fluency) is the author’s own. Word is the author’s seems not to
own. Word choice is own. Word be the author’s
choice is relatively choice is own. Word
engaging, and straightforward sometimes choice is
all culturally and most unhelpful and unhelpful and
specific culturally confusing and confusing and
vocabulary/refe specific culturally culturally
rences are vocabulary/refe specific specific
clearly rences is vocabulary/refe vocabulary/refe
explained. clearly rences is often rences is often
explained. left left
Sentence unexplained. unexplained.
structure is Sentence Sentence
varied but is structure is structure is
sometime unvaried and unvaried and

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 choppy. often choppy. choppy.
Question Questions are Questions are Questions Questions are
Design deep, thorough, somewhat cover some poorly
appropriate, thorough, areas, are constructed,
well-phrased, appropriate, appropriate, poorly ordered,
thoughtful, and well-phrased, decently and do not
well-ordered. thoughtful, and phrased, and cover a
The student well-ordered. have some considerable
has put order. number of
considerable There are __ or important
energy into more questions There are __ or areas. The
designing that were more questions student put a
powerful created by the that were limited amount
questions. interviewer. created by the of effort into
interviewer. crafting
There are __ or The questions questions.
more questions are somewhat The questions
that were provoking and are short and
created by the give the lack and do not
interviewer. interviewee allow give the
somewhat time interviewee to
The questions to reflect and elaborate,
are thought respond to your reflect and
provoking and questions. respond to your
give the questions.
interviewee
time to reflect
and respond to
your questions.
Video Excellent The speaker The speaker The speaker
Presentati attention introduced the introduced the failed to
on and getter, related speech speech, but introduce the
Peer to the adequately, some details speech OR the
Responses audience, gave including an were unclear. introduction
very brief attention getter The was not useful
introduction of and a preview introduction in indicating
topic, and of the main lacked an what the
stated claim points of the attention getter speech was
(i.e. point you speech. Claim and/or a about.
will be trying to wasn't clearly preview of
prove) expressed. main points.
previewed the Relevance of No video and
main points. topic to Video no peer
Clearly stated audience needs presentation responses.
the relevance and interests was uploaded.
of topic to was somewhat No peer
audience needs apparent. responses
and interests. submitted.
Video
Video presentation

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 presentation was uploaded.
was uploaded. Replied to one
Replied to two classmate.
classmates.
Reflection Postscript Postscript Postscript Postscript
s conveys the conveys the conveys some conveys very
writer’s writer’s of the writer’s little of the
impressions of impressions of impressions of writer’s
their oral their their impressions of
history subject experience experience their oral
and their taking the oral taking the oral history subject
experience history in a history. and their
taking the oral somewhat However, it experience
history in an insightful, seems as taking the oral
insightful, revealing, and though the history.
revealing, and thorough writer has not
thorough manner. taken the time
manner. to make this
section
thorough or
insightful.
Resources The narrative The narrative The narrative None of the
& shows shows the use shows very course
document extensive use of two scholarly little variety in materials or
ation of three resources of the scholarly outside
scholarly information resources of resources were
resources which have information used in the
which have been cited in a which have narrative, or
been cited in a work cite page. been cited in a the resources
work cited work cited were not cited
page. page. in the work
cited page.
The narrative
shows the use
of internet
resources.
Mechanics Minimal to no The readability Grammatical The readability
distracting of the work is and/or spelling of the work is
errors in only slightly errors distract seriously
grammar and interrupted by from the work. hampered by
spelling. spelling and/or spelling and/or
grammatical grammatical
errors. errors.