History 101:   American Themes: Between the World Wars 

The Great Depression/Family History Essay

This particular assignment  provides you with the opportunity to perform the tasks of an historian.  Your specific task is to analyze primary sources (at least one of which you will generate through interviews) with the goal of commenting some aspect of American culture in the 1930s that you find significant and worthy of deeper examination I am giving you with a lot of leeway and independence in this project.  You will not be answering a question I have provided, but rather, you will need to determine for yourself what the point of your essay will be.  Let the sources speak to you – this is what historians do. 

Your source base for this project consists of the Depression-era letters contained in Robert McElvaine’s Down and Out in the Depression as well as the oral history sources you generate through interviews with family members who lived during the Depression. You may write about whatever issues/questions seem to resonate most with you and your interview subject, using the McElvaine letters as supportive evidence. 

You may find that your interview subjects were quite young during this era.  Remember, they may not only be able to share with you their experiences, but also their recollections of their parents’ experiences. 

NOTE:  If, for whatever reason, you do not have access to a family member who lived during the Depression, please see me as soon as possible so we can arrange a satisfactory substitute.  Do not put this off. 

Two other quick points to keep in mind:

1) Your essay must have a thesis.  Something must be at stake in your analysis of these sources.  Don’t just describe them, make them matter to a student of this period.  A few questions to ask yourself to get you thinking are: What does juxtaposing these sources do?  What interesting points are illuminated? How and why should we care about the issues they reveal?  What tensions are present? etc. 
2) You must deploy direct evidence from the interviews and letters to support your claims.  Cite as usual. 
 

Notes on the Interview Process:

1) Set up a quiet time and place to interview your  subjects. You may do this by phone or in writing if necessary. 
2) You may need to speak to your subjects more than once, so please make that clear to them from the start. 
3) Come to the interview PREPARED with questions you want to ask already written out.  Questions should move from specific biographical information (level 1: who, what, where) to reflection and analysis (level 2: why or why not? what do you think about such and such? Was this typical? etc.) 
4) While preparedness is important, so too is flexibility.  Try to direct the conversation but do not manipulate answers. Let your sources be what they are.  Your analysis of what is important might differ from your  interviewees’ priorities.  It is important to be attentive to these differences. 
5) Be a grateful and polite interviewer.  Your subject is doing you a favor, both academically and personally by sharing their recollections with you.  Their time and experiences are a gift. 
6) If possible, tape record your interview (for transcription later).  Note the date, time and place of the interview, the full name of the interviewer and interviewee (you will need this information for citation purposes in your essay). 
7) Take handwritten notes as well. 
8) Review/transcribe the tape immediately after your interview when it is freshest in your mind.