Oral Histories at Wilson Special Collections Library: Getting Started
Oral History as a Methodology
What are oral histories?
Oral history is the process of passing historical and cultural information from one person or group of people to others. Oral history methodology is the practice of documenting community histories through individual or group sharing sessions/interviews. Below is a definition and explanation of oral histories found on the Oral History Association's website:
"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. Oral history is both the oldest type of historical inquiry, predating the written word, and one of the most modern, initiated with tape recorders in the 1940s and now using 21st-century digital technologies.
In Doing Oral History, Donald Ritchie explains, 'Oral History collects memories and personal commentaries of historical significance through recorded interviews. 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. Recordings, transcripts, catalogs, photographs and related documentary materials can also be posted on the Internet. Oral history does not include random taping, such as President Richard Nixon’s surreptitious recording of his White House conversations, nor does it refer to recorded speeches, wiretapping, personal diaries on tape, or other sound recordings that lack the dialogue between interviewer and interviewee.'"
Many organizations with public history focus use oral history methodology in their work, like the National Public Housing Museum. Their oral history programs contribute to their oral history archive and facilitate community engagement and guidance. The NPHM also provides resources on trauma informed oral history, training in oral history methodology, and best practices available on their website.
"We embrace oral history as an accessible and adaptable history-making practice for all ages and backgrounds."
It is important to note that not all "oral histories" may be conducted through auditory means; the distinction of 'oral history' comes through the telling of history, specifically by people or communities about their own histories. Some oral histories including writing in the form of transcriptions for accessibility. There has been some research into the application of oral history methodologies in deaf and hard of hearing communities and the ways oral historians can address issues of audism in their oral history practices. For further exploration of this topic, please check out Greenwald & Legg's Documenting Deaf Lived Experiences: Sign Language and Oral History Methodologies.
Resources through UNC's Libraries
When beginning with oral history methodology, UNC's library system offers a variety of resources and tools. Within the library holdings, there are books and materials for better understanding what oral history is and how to use oral history methodology. For students, faculty, and UNC affiliates, the library website provides access to academic databases for emerging research, case studies, and development of oral history practice. Also for those associated with UNC, the Media & Design Center offers equipment rentals, which can be used to conduct oral history sessions or use for training on conducting oral history interviews. For students and faculty within the School of Information and Library Science (SILS), the school has its own equipment rental options.
Below are some of the resources available through UNC's libraries for further learning on oral history methodology and practice.
Books available from UNC Libraries
Doing Oral History
Doing Oral History is considered the premier guidebook to oral history, used by professional oral historians, public historians, archivists, and genealogists as a core text in college courses and throughout the public history community. his basic manual offers detailed advice on setting up an oral history project, conducting interviews, making video recordings, preserving oral history collections in archives and libraries, and teaching and presenting oral history.
Oral History and Communities of Color
Oral history has been employed for decades by anthropologists, historians, and sociologists to collect data about lived experience. This volume explores how oral history, using video recordings and storytelling as well as interviews, can be used for a number of purposes in communities of color. The authors discuss oral histories that are intended not only to record the culture and history of understudied communities; they also address other goals, such as increasing student interaction with diverse communities and developing effective health interventions.
Bodies of Evidence: The Practice of Queer Oral History
Bodies of Evidence: The Practice of Queer Oral History is the first book to provide serious scholarly insight into the methodological practices that shape lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer oral histories. Each chapter pairs an oral history excerpt with an essay in which the oral historian addresses his or her methods and practices.
The Voice of the Past: Oral History
Oral history gives history back to the people in their own words. And in giving a past, it also helps them towards a future of their own making. Oral history and life stories help to create a truer picture of the past and the changing present, documenting the lives and feelings of all kinds of people, many otherwise hidden from history.
The Oral History Reader
The Oral History Reader, now in its third edition, is a comprehensive, international anthology combining major, 'classic' articles with cutting-edge pieces on the theory, method and use of oral history.
Academic Databases
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America in World War II: Oral Histories and Personal AccountsThis collection covers the many facets of American involvement in World War Two, from 1939-1949. American military and civilian involvement in all major theatres of operations is represented, and include oral history video interviews, personal letters, diaries, photographs, and military records.
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North American Immigrant Letters, Diaries, and Oral HistoriesProvides a unique and personal view of what it meant to immigrate to America and Canada. With more than 100,000 pages of personal narratives, including letters, diaries, pamphlets, autobiographies, and oral histories, the collection provides a rich source for scholars in a wide range of disciplines. Several thousand pages of Ellis Island Oral History interviews, indexed and searchable for the first time, are included, along with thousands of political cartoons.
Searching for oral histories in Wilson Library
Wilson Library houses a variety of collections and archives in which oral histories can be found, including the Southern Historical Collection and the Southern Oral History Project, the Southern Folklife Collection, and the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center. When searching for oral histories in Wilson Library's collections, we recommend using two search engines:
To search the catalog, follow the link above and type in your search terms. Searching "oral history" generates approximately 31,041 results from UNC's catalog, which can be narrowed through the advanced search function or by the filters found on the left side bar of the webpage. The catalog contains published materials that may be helpful in learning more about oral history methodology and practice.
By using the link above for the finding aid search engine, you will find multiple search bars. Use the second search bar on the page titled "Search Archival Collections" to browse through the finding aids, which are the documents that contain information about the archival collections.
Searching "oral history" shows results for approximately 298 different collections. You can also use the "Limit Your Search" function to narrow your results.
In the next sections, we will review the various collections of oral histories that can be located through Wilson Special Collections Library. However, if you are unable to find a specific oral history or type of oral history, you can write to our reference staff at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu for further assistance.
Examples of Oral Histories
Below are examples of oral histories from collections that can be found in Wilson Special Collections Library.
