Oral History Project

For this project you are to find an individual who is at least one generation older than you, conduct an oral history interview, transcribe the interview, then write the “story” of their life. You are to use the standard oral history interview format, an example of which is provided in the attached Oral History Association guidelines. As part of the oral history project, you must provide a typed transcript of the interview questions and responses to show that you followed the proper format. Using information obtained during the interview, you will then write the “story” of your individual.
Essay Format: Just use a standard essay format. It should be double-spaced with reasonable (default) margins, using a 12-point font, and 7 FULL pages – 10 pages in length (longer is ok, shorter is not).. The essay can be written in the first or third person. You are telling the story of your interviewee’s life, their personal slice of history. You can add historical context if it seems necessary and you can include observations from the interviewee. For example, if your interviewee started smiling when relating a particular memory, you can put that in the essay. You are encouraged to include photographs that represent your interviewee’s life, but they do not take the place of regular text pages. The transcript records what was said in the interview, the essay is your interpretation of what was said.