HR679-6-AU-CO:
Our Voices, Our Pasts, Our Histories: Oral History in Practice
2023/24
Philosophical, Historical and Interdisciplinary Studies (School of)
Colchester Campus
Autumn
Undergraduate: Level 6
ReassessmentOnly
Thursday 05 October 2023
Friday 15 December 2023
15
14 October 2021
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
We will never know how most people in the past lived and died; their stories were not considered worthy of recovery or preservation, and so their voices are lost. With the boom in social history since the 1960s, historians have experimented with different ways to bring the voices of those `hidden from history` into the record.
One of the most important ways in which this has been achieved is through the development of oral history – the practice of interviewing people about their past experiences. Oral testimonies provide one of the most important types of source for social historians of the modern world. Oral history sheds light on aspects of life which may not have been recorded, and allow us to hear the thoughts and emotions of `ordinary` people who have traditionally left few written records. More than this, oral history provides insights into how individual and group memories are shaped or `constructed`, showing how culture influences experience, memory, and individual subjectivity.
This module combines in-depth exploration of the development of oral history in Britain since the 1960s with an introduction to formulating and conducting oral history projects. It examines how oral historians have incorporated the voices of previously neglected groups into historical record, the special properties of oral history as a form of evidence, and the operation of oral history beyond the academy. As well as introducing students to debates on emotion, subjectivity, and memory in oral history, it enables students to explore these issues through the design of a mini-project and conduct of a short interview.
Lectures, seminars, and practical workshops support students through this innovative assessment. The modules therefore both enhances historical research skills, and provides a valuable addition to students` CVs in allowing them to demonstrate attention to ethics, interview skills, and reflection on interpersonal encounters.
The aims of this module are:
1. to investigate the theory, history, and practice of oral history, with a focus on Britain since the 1960s;
2. to relate shifts in the practice of oral history to wider developments within the historical discipline;
3. to examine the aims, process, and findings of a range of oral history projects;
4. to explore the use of oral history in empowering marginalised groups;
5. to analyse the deployment of oral history in contexts beyond academia;
6. to provide a practical introduction to formulating and conducting an oral history project.
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
1. demonstrate a broad and systematic knowledge of changing approaches to oral history since the 1960s;
2. Analyse the role of oral history within the development of the historical discipline;
3. Examine strengths, weaknesses, problems, and/or peculiarities of oral history in theory and practice;
4. demonstrate an awareness of key factors that shape the formulation of an oral history project, conduct of an interview, and the subsequent potential uses of the interview.
For introductory reading, see:
Lynn Abrams, Oral History Theory>, 2nd edn (Routledge, 2016).
Nan Amilla Boyd and Horacio N. Roque Ramirez (eds), Bodies of Evidence: The Practice of Queer Oral History (OUP, 2012).
Thomas L. Charlton, Lois E. Myers, and Rebecca Sharpless (eds), Handbook of Oral History (AltaMira Press, 2008).
Robert Perks and Alistair Thomson (eds), The Oral History Reader, 3rd edn (Routledge, 2015).
Donald A. Ritchie, Doing Oral History, 3rd edn (OUP, 2014).
Elizabeth Roberts, Women and Families: An Oral History, 1940-1970 (Blackwell, 1995).
Katrina Srigley, Stacey Zembrzycki, and Franca Iacovetta (eds), Beyond Women's Words: Feminisms and the Practices of Oral History in the Twenty-First Century (Routledge, 2018).
Penny Summerfield, Reconstructing Women's Wartime Lives: Discourse and Subjectivity in Oral Histories of the Second World War (St. Martin's Press, 1998).
Paul Thompson, The Voice of the Past: Oral History, 4th edn (OUP, 2017).
Alistair Thomson, Anzac Memories: Living with the Legend, 2nd edn (Monash University Publishing, 2013).
Emma Vickers, 'Dry Your Eyes, Princess: Oral Testimony and Photography: A Case Study', Oral History [publication date TBC].
This module does not appear to have a published bibliography for this year.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Dr Matthew Grant, email: m.grant@essex.ac.uk.
Professor Lucy Noakes, Professor Tracey Loughran, Dr Alix Green
Belinda Waterman, Department of History, 01206 872313
Yes
Yes
No
No external examiner information available for this module.
Available via Moodle
Of 20 hours, 20 (100%) hours available to students:
0 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s).
Disclaimer: The University makes every effort to ensure that this information on its Module Directory is accurate and up-to-date. Exceptionally it can
be necessary to make changes, for example to programmes, modules, facilities or fees. Examples of such reasons might include a change of law or regulatory requirements,
industrial action, lack of demand, departure of key personnel, change in government policy, or withdrawal/reduction of funding. Changes to modules may for example consist
of variations to the content and method of delivery or assessment of modules and other services, to discontinue modules and other services and to merge or combine modules.
The University will endeavour to keep such changes to a minimum, and will also keep students informed appropriately by updating our programme specifications and module directory.
The full Procedures, Rules and Regulations of the University governing how it operates are set out in the Charter, Statutes and Ordinances and in the University Regulations, Policy and Procedures.