Mentoring the Next Generation of Oral Historians
Read the recent post on the OUP blog about the OHA mentoring program. Consider participating in the mentor program at the Tampa meeting this fall!
NEH provides opportunity for oral history
The 2015 guidelines for the NEH Division of Preservation and Access’s Humanities Collections and Reference Resources program include oral history interviews, in accord with the NEH’s Common Good initiative. They also specifically mention the OHA’s Principles and Best Practices.
The relevant language states:
“In conjunction with the Common Good initiative, applicants to HCRR may request support to create, preserve, and make available oral history interviews with individuals who can provide eyewitness insights on the experience of war—actual military experience, and/or the impact of war on the American home front during wartime and its aftermath. Informants could include veterans, family members, and others, such as local officials or employees of military bases and industries in places in which the experience of war and its consequences were or are deeply felt.”
And later . . . “For projects to create oral histories about war and military service in conjunction with the Common Good initiative, identify interviewees, to the extent possible, and provide examples of questions to be asked. Discuss plans for preparatory research, recording equipment, interview setting, securing permissions, and post-interview preservation and access methods, such as audio streaming, transcription, or time-based indexing. For guidance, refer to the statement of Principles and Best Practices published by the Oral History Association. Interviews of military veterans should be produced so as to facilitate their inclusion in the Veterans History Project collection of the Library of Congress.”
The deadline for HCRR applications is July 21, 2015 for projects beginning in May 2016. For more information, go to HCRR.
International Committee Blog for May
The International Oral History Association (IOHA) and the Oral History Association of India(OHAI) are pleased to be hosting the XIXth International Oral History Conference at the Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Bengaluru, India from 27th June to 1st July 2016.
The theme of the conference will be “Speaking, Listening, Interpreting: the critical engagements of Oral History” and we look forward to receiving abstracts under the following themes:
- Oral History’s relationship to Anthropology
- Oral history, Memory and Literary Studies
- Engaging with History
- Women’s History and Oral history
- Oral Narratives and Legal Studies
- Oral History, Community Life and Critiques of Development
- Oral Narratives of Caste and Communities
- Traditions, Folklore and History
- Oral History in the Archives
- Oral History, Gender, Politics and Oral Narratives
- Orality, Memory and History
- Oral History of Science
Call for Proposals: All abstracts need to be submitted before 30th July 2015.
We invite proposals in English and Spanish for the XIX International Oral History Association Conference. Proposals maybe towards a conference paper, a thematic panel or a workshop session. Proposals will be evaluated according to their oral history focus, relevance to the conference theme and sub-themes, methodological and theoretical significance, and sound scholarship. Participants are encouraged to incorporate voice, image, and digital media in their presentations.
If you are interested in participating, please send us a single page abstract including an outline of your paper and the following details:
- Please indicate in the subject line, if the submission is in English or Spanish
- Name (with your family name in CAPITAL letters).
- Organisational affiliation
- Postal address
- Email and contact details
- Relevant sub-theme
- Whether an individual paper, thematic panel, workshop session or a performance*
- Individual papers will be grouped by conference organizers into panels or workshops with papers that have a similar focus.
Thematic panels should contain no more than four presenters, preferably representing different countries.
Performance segments of no more than 30 minutes from oral history based performances.
Workshop proposals should identify an issue or focus for a workshop, proposal a structure and workshop leader(s).
Master Classes will be conducted before the conference by internationally recognized oral history practitioners.
Proposals for English or Spanish submissions can be sent to: iohaindia2016@gmail.com
(Please mention in the subject line of the email if English or Spanish submission)
Important Deadlines:
- 30th July 2015: submission of one page abstract
- 15th September 2015: acceptance or rejection of proposals
- 30th December 2015: receipt of papers for publication For any further queries, do write to iohaindia2016@gmail.com
Registration Fees*:
- Early Bird rates below to be availed before 26th February 2016.
Non IOHA Member (Professional) – 190 Euros
IOHA Member (Professional) – 160 Euros
Non IOHA Member (Student) – 90 Euros
IOHA Member (Student) – 70 Euros
Special Fees (For local participants) – 90 Euros
The registration fee includes:
- Attendance to the Inauguration Ceremony
- Attendance to all conference sessions, plenary panel sessions, events and workshops
- Conference papers on a pen drive and other conference material
- Lunch on all conference days
Register now for the 2015 annual meeting in Tampa
Online registration for the 2015 meeting is now OPEN.
Make plans to attend the 2015 annual meeting scheduled for October 14-18 at the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel. The annual meeting attracts a broad range of people and features the best work in the field, enabling students and both emerging and established scholars to network and learn valuable skills. This year’s theme, “Stories for Social Change and Social Justice,” focuses special attention on the power of oral history to uncover links between political and cultural change and to inspire civic engagement.
Program Highlights
- Dynamic plenary sessions on oral history and social activism, the Guantanamo Public Memory Project, and organizing in the aftermath of Ferguson;
- Andy Garrison, independent filmmaker out of Austin, Texas, showcasing and speaking about his most recent documentary feature Trash Dance;
- OHA Presidential Reception at the Tampa Bay History Center and performance of Gator Tales, an original play devised and directed by Kevin Marshall in conjunction with the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program featuring the unique experiences of African American students at the University of Florida;
- Keynote speaker Charlie Cobb, journalist, professor, and former activist with SNCC. Cobb is currently a senior analyst at allAfrica.com and a visiting professor at Brown University, as well as one of the creators and coordinators of the SNCC Legacy Project.
- Evening performances by actor, writer and educator Judith Sloan, featuring her work “YO MISS!,” and human rights activist and comedian Hari Kondabolu, called “one of the most exciting political comics in stand-up today” by the New York Times.
Opportunities
- Oral history workshops for practitioners at all levels;
- The OHA mentor program linking newcomers to established oral historians; and
- More than 75 general sessions highlighting recent work and new technology.
Registration and housing will open in May. The links for online registration and hotel reservations will be available on our website when they are available.
