Oral history, a scholarly method of gathering historical information about and reflections on lived experience, takes the form of a taped conversation between a narrator and a well-informed interviewer. As an interactive performance, the oral history interview reflects the social and historical moment in which it occurs, including pressures to speak and to be silent. Not only does it record speech and thought patterns lost in written material, oral history also documents processes of memory and the creation of meaning.
According to the Oral History Association, "Oral history is a field of study and a method of gathering, preserving and interpreting the voices and memories of people, communities, and participants in past events. ... An oral history interview generally consists of a well-prepared interviewer questioning an interviewee and recording their exchange in audio or video format. Recordings of the interview are transcribed, summarized, or indexed and then placed in a library or archives. These interviews may be used for research or excerpted in a publication, radio or video documentary, museum exhibition, dramatization or other form of public presentation."
[This definition was adapted from OHA's "Oral History: Defined."]
The Oral History Association, established in 1966, seeks to bring together all persons interested in oral history as a way of collecting and interpreting human memories to foster knowledge and human dignity. With an international membership, the OHA serves a broad and diverse audience. Local historians, librarians and archivists, students, journalists, teachers, and academic scholars from many fields have found that the OHA provides both professional guidance and a collegial environment for sharing research.
A professional association established to provide a forum for oral historians around the world, and a means for cooperation among those concerned with the documentation of human experience. IOHA seeks to stimulate research that uses the techniques of oral history and to promote the development of standards and principles for individuals, institutions and agencies (both public and private) who have the responsibility for the collection and preservation of historical information gathered through the techniques of oral histories, in all forms. Through international conferences, collaborative networks, and support for national oral history organizations, IOHA seeks to foster a better understanding of the democratic nature and value of oral history worldwide.
H-Oralhist is a network for scholars and professionals active in studies related to oral history. It is affiliated with the Oral History Association.
An emerging and dynamic network of oral historians, activists, cultural workers, community organizers, and documentary artists.
[This list was adapted from the UC Santa Cruz LibGuide on oral histories.]
The Oral History Association encourages individuals and institutions involved with the creation and preservation of oral histories to uphold certain principles, professional and technical standards, and obligations.
Oral History in the Digital Age is the go-to place for the latest information on digital technologies pertaining to all phases of the oral history process. This resource is a product of an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) National Leadership project and a collaboration among the Michigan State University Digital Humanities Center, Matrix; the American Folklife Center (AFC/LOC), the Library of Congress; the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage (CFCH); the American Folklore Society (AFS); the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries; and the Oral History Association.
[This list was adapted from the UC Santa Cruz LibGuide on oral histories.]
The Oral History Review, published by the Oral History Association, is the U.S. journal of record for the theory and practice of oral history. Its primary mission is to explore the nature and significance of oral history and advance understanding of the field among scholars, educators, practitioners, and the general public.
Words and Silences is the official on-line journal of the International Oral History Association. It is an internationally peer reviewed, high quality forum for oral historians from a wide range of disciplines and a means for the professional community to share projects and current trends of oral history from around the world.
[This list was adapted from the UC Santa Cruz LibGuide on oral histories.]