Public History & Memory

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Notes on the Oral History 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. You may want to conduct some secondary research before your interview so you know what kinds of issues to discuss. 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 (to be transcribed 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.
Please let me know if problems arise. I am providing you with this assignment far in advance because arranging and conducting interviews takes time. You may need to speak with the same person a few times before you have the material you need to write this paper. Do not put this off.

Good luck!