Ohio Humanities Council - Oral History Training Institute

Oral History Training Institute
The 2008 Oral History Institute
was held June 3-5.

Local historians, librarians, teachers (grade school through university level), and other community groups require training and expertise to complete successful Oral History projects. To provide assistance to these people and organizations, The Ohio Humanities Council will supported the ninth annual Oral History Institute on June 3-5 at Kenyon College.

With the goal of broadly introducing the theory and practice of Oral History, the curriculum included such activities as:

Framing interview questions

Conducting interviews

Transcribing interviews from tape to typed transcripts

Archiving and storing tapes and interview transcripts

Participants learned interview techniques, discuss the various ethical and legal issues facing Oral Historians, and addressed the limits of Oral History as a source of historical information. Additional scheduled programs included breakout sessions on funding. Oral History Workshop participants also had ample opportunities for one-on-one consultations with the faculty of the Oral History Institute regarding Individual projects.

Experienced Oral Historians instructed and shared information in the 2008 Institute. Admission to the Oral History Institute was open to paid staff and dedicated volunteers from local historical organizations, libraries, schools, and colleges and universities, and civic groups, who have little formal training in Oral History, but who have a serious interest in using it in the community, in organizations, or in classrooms.

The summer 2008 institute was June 3-5, 2008 at Kenyon College. For more information, contact Ohio Humanities Council Program Officer Frank Dunkle at 800-293-9774 or frankd@ohiohumanities.org.

What is the Oral History Institute?

The Oral History Institute is an intensive three-day introduction to the theory and practice of oral history. Offered by the Ohio Humanities Council, the Institute will train participants to conduct community-based oral history projects. Participants will be admitted to the Institute because they are committed to using oral history to document an aspect of their communities’ history. Three days—and many hands-on learning exercises later—attendees will leave with the information they need to turn a good oral history idea into a great oral history program.

The 2008 Oral History Institute is sponsored by the Ohio Humanities Council, and the Rural Life Center at Kenyon College, in cooperation with the Ohio Association of Historical Societies and Museums and the Ohio Historical Society.

Who should apply for the Oral History Institute?

Admission to the Oral History Institute is open to paid staff and dedicated volunteers from local historical organizations, libraries, civic groups, schools, and colleges and universities who have little or no formal training in oral history, but who have a serious interest in using it in their communities, organizations, or classrooms.

Applicants are asked to explain below their reasons for wanting to attend the Institute. Admission to the Oral History Institute is competitive and will be limited to thirty participants. The Oral History Institute wishes to ensure that representatives from many different organizations will attend, but two or more applications from the same organization will be considered relative to space available.

Locations, Dates, Times of Oral History Institute:

Location: Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio (approximately 5 miles east of Mount Vernon and approximately 1 hour northeast of Columbus)

Dates & Times: June 3-5, 2008. Room check-in opens at 10:30 a.m. on June 3. The program concludes at 2:30 p.m. on June 5.

Please view the schedule below or open the version for print.

Fee:

$250 per participant. The fee includes two overnight room stays, six meals, and all workshop materials. The fee is payable after participants are notified of their admission to the Oral History Institute. Send no payment with this application.

Note: Some scholarships in the amount of $150 are available to Ohio Residents from the Ohio Humanities Council to cover most of the fee for attending the 2008 Oral History Institute. To apply, attach a separate statement of financial need to your application for the Institute.

Deadlines:

All applications must be postmarked or e-mailed on or by May 1, 2008. All applicants will be notified regarding admission on or before May 12.

To apply:

Complete the “Application Form” below.

You may return it via e-mail or surface mail to:
E-mail to: frankd@ohiohumanities.org	Surface mail: Ohio Humanities Council ATTN: Oral History Institute 471 E. Broad St. #1620 Columbus, OH 43215

Call (614) 461-7802 or toll free (800) 293-9774 with questions,
or e-mail frankd@ohiohumanities.org

Faculty
David Mould, Ohio University
Steve Paschen, Kent State University
Howard Sacks, Kenyon College
Donna DeBlasio, Youngstown State University
Craig Simpson, Kent State University

Staff
Frank Dunkle, Ohio Humanities Council
Jack Shortlidge, Ohio Humanities Council

Tuesday, June 3

10:30 a.m.

Registration and Room Check In, Old Bank Building: Follow signs at Central Gambier

Howard Sacks and staff of Ohio Humanities Council

12:30 p.m.

Welcome, Mather Hall 202
Introduction of Institute leaders, review of schedule, discussion of outcomes.

1:00 -

Session I—Why Do Oral History? Howard Sacks, Mather 202

At the end of this session, you will be divided into 8 groups of 3-4 people each. During the next three days, you will work in these smaller groups to complete an oral history project. In the process you will learn how to take an idea for an oral history project and turn it into a finished product.

2:00 -

Break

2:15 -

Session II—Planning an Oral History Project, Steve Paschen, Mather 202

Break (5 minutes)

3:15 -

Session III—Framing Questions, David Mould, Mather 202

4:15 -

Session IV—Project Launch, David Mould, Mather 202

During Session IV, you will discover the subject of this year’s Oral History
Institute lab project and brainstorm approaches to the topic.

4:45 -

Adjourn

5 – 6:00

Dinner, Dempsey Hall

6:30 -

Historical tour of Kenyon College

A walking tour of the beautiful and historic campus of our host; don’t stay out too late afterward, you have homework in preparation for the first full day of the Institute tomorrow.

Wednesday, June 4

7:30 a.m.

Breakfast, Dempsey Hall

8:30 -

Session V— Oral History Interviewing Techniques, David Mould & Howard Sacks, Mather 202

10:00 -

Break

10:15 -

Session VI—Conduct Oral History Interviews
Craig Simpson, 201; David Mould, Mather 202; Steve Paschen, Mather 215; Howard Sacks, Mather 308

As a member of your group, you will receive an introduction to the basic equipment of the oral historian and then have the opportunity to use it and practice your interview technique. Individuals from each group will interview individual members of another group about the Institute’s lab project. During this session, each member of a group will interview once and be interviewed once. Each interview will last approximately 10 minutes. The four members of the Institute’s faculty will each work with two groups each as they conduct their interviews.

11:30 -

Session VII—Interview Feedback
Donna DeBlasio, Mather 201; David Mould, Mather 202; Steve Paschen, Mather 215; Howard Sacks, Mather 308

12:00 p.m.

Lunch, Dempsey Hall

1:00 -

Session VIII—Archiving Oral History, Steve Paschen, Mather 202

1:45 -

Session IX—Transcribing Oral History, Donna DeBlasio, Mather 202

2:30 -

Session X—Transcribing Lab, Mather 206

Participants will transcribe the oral history interviews they conducted in Session VI. While one member of a group is transcribing his/her interview, other members will have free time to discuss their own projects with the Institute’s staff.

5 – 6:00

Dinner, Dempsey Hall

After dinner and during the remainder of the evening, groups should prepare their project for presentation at session XIII tomorrow afternoon.

Thursday, June 5

7:30 a.m.

Breakfast, Dempsey Hall

9:00 -

Session XI—Concurrent Breakout Sessions

	When to Use Video in Oral History Projects, David Mould, Mather 202
	Consultations with faculty of the Oral History Institute, Location TBA

You have the option of attending a session on video in oral history projects or consulting with members of the Institute’s faculty. In the video session, you will learn about pros and cons of the technology in oral history projects and see a demonstration of video recording equipment.

10:30 -

Break

10:45 -

Session XII—Concurrent Breakout Sessions

	Funding Oral History Projects, Frank Dunkle, Ohio Humanities Council
	Consultations with faculty of the Oral History Institute, Location TBA

You have the option of attending a session on finding funding for oral history projects or consulting with members of the Institute’s faculty. The session on funding will focus on grants for oral history available from the Ohio Humanities Council and other sources.

12:00 p.m.

Lunch & Discussion of successful projects, Dempsey Hall

During lunch, participants will have the opportunity to learn about successful oral history projects conducted by faculty or guests .

1:30 -

Session XIII—Presentation of Oral History Projects, Dempsey

During this final session, each group will take no more than five minutes to present their project. We’ll end the session with a discussion of how you could use what you learned at the Institute in planning an oral history project at your home institutions.

2:30 -

Evaluations

Your written evaluation of the Oral History Institute will tell us what changes we should make for next year and will tell us what should stay just as it is. Please take a few moments to complete the evaluation in your packet. Thank you.

2:45 -

Presentation of Certificates and Farewell

PLEASE NOTE: Lodgings must be vacated by 3:00 p.m. RETURN YOUR KEY AND LANIARD BEFORE YOU DEPART.

Download OHI Application Form

In Microsoft Word Format

Download Application as PDF

Print : OHI Schedule, Curriculum & Session Locations

You may return it via e-mail or surface mail to:
E-mail to: frankd@ohiohumanities.org	Surface mail: Ohio Humanities Council ATTN: Oral History Institute 471 E. Broad St. #1620 Columbus, OH 43215

Call (614) 461-7802 or toll free (800) 293-9774 with questions, or e-mail frankd@ohiohumanities.org

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