Glenn Whitman - Dialogue with the Past: Engaging Students and Meeting Standards through Oral History

1. You must select an individualwho is not related to youto interview. Take risks in selecting someone to interview. The interviewee must be cleared by the instructor and must be willing to sign both the release form and additional materials form, though restrictions can be attached. Inform your interviewee of this requirement immediately.
   • Establish date, time, and place of the interview well in advance. You may wish to call and remind the interviewee a few days before you appointment.
   • Establish informal banter with your interviewee. You do not want to show up, turn the tape recorder to play, and start taping. The more your interviewee becomes comfortable with you, the better the interview will be.
   • Clearly state the purpose of the interview at the beginning and show the interviewee the end result on the project website, www.americancenturyproject.org . Explain why this class is doing the project and all the components of it. You might have to convince him or her of the importance of the story to creating a complete picture of Americas past.
2. Your interview must focus on a particular period or event that your interviewee either witnessed or was part of. You are required to broadly research the period or event, using at least seven sources (minimum of four print sources). This research will allow you to develop sophisticated, open-ended questions. Begin developing questions throughout your research. Photographs, speeches, and video can also be helpful in engaging the interviewee.
3. Each interview needs to be recorded either on tape or minidisk or, in certain instances, with a video recorder, and must be conducted in person. The beginning of the tape must include your name, the interviewees name, the date and location of the interview. The tape must be labeled accordingly. Do this prior to the interview.
4. You are expected to take notes during the interview to serve as reference points when doing your analysis as well as for helping to develop follow-up questions.
5. You are responsible for transcribing the questions you asked and the response of the individual while trying to maintain the tone of the responses. Expect six hours of transcription for each hour of interview.
6. You will analyze the historical value of the interview. What was its value as a historical source? Where does it fit into the existing history, the sources you researched? Can it be useful in better understanding our past?

   The final project will be bound and ordered as follows:

Part I: Title page, followed by interview releases.

Part II: Table of contents.

Part III: Statement of purpose of the project and your interview (provide setting, dates, and location).

Part IV: Biography with photo. Introduce the reader to your interviewee by supplying a short (one page) biography. Include a physical description of the interviewee.