Oral History: An Introduction

Do you have an interview project in mind but don’t quite know where to begin or how to proceed? Vermont Folklife is partnering with Green Mountain Academy for Lifelong Learning (GMALL) to offer this workshop, Oral History: An Introduction, to help you move your project forward.   This workshop combines discussion of the theories and methods that inform oral history research with practical, hands-on training in oral history interview techniques. The workshop includes a demonstration interview followed by group discussion of the interview process. Attendees will also work as teams to conduct practice interviews using provided digital audio recording equipment. The day concludes with reflection on interviewing and a discussion of project ideas.   From the perspective of ethnographic research, an interview offers the opportunity to see the world through the eyes of another person. The premise of our interview methodology is that everyone is the foremost authority on their own life, and an interview offers the opportunity to capture a person’s experience in their own words and on their own terms.   Led by Vermont Folklife Director of Education & Media Mary Wesley and Associate Director & Archivist, Andy Kolovos, this workshop will help participants develop a plan to take steps towards engaging in their own oral history project.   This workshop will take place on Wednesday, May 29 from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm at the Bell Tower Room in Founders Hall at Burr and Burton Academy.