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HIST376 Oral History

Updated: 31 August 2012
Credit Points 6
Offering Not offered in 2013
Intensive School(s) None
Supervised Exam There is no UNE Supervised Examination.
Pre-requisites 12cp in ANCH or ASST or ECON (units with a 4 or 5 as second digit [denoting ECON HIST] only) or HIST or candidature in BArch(Hons) or BIndigStuds or a postgraduate award
Co-requisites None
Restrictions HIST276 or LOCH216 or LOCH423
Notes

offered in even numbered years
Combined Units None
Coordinator(s) Janis Wilton (jwilton@une.edu.au)
Unit Description

Oral history is a social research metholodogy unit. It utilises approaches developed in the social sciences and applies them to conducting and interpreting interviews that record individuals' memories of past events and experiences. This unit introduces the interdisciplinary literature that underpins the method; the skills and ethical issues involved in conducting oral history interviews; and the challenges and processes of interpreting and presenting the insights and information collected through oral histories. It also provides an opportunity to conduct, interpret and present an interview with a person of your choice.
Materials Textbook information will be displayed approximately 8 weeks prior to the commencement of the teaching period. Please note that textbook requirements may vary from one teaching period to the next.
Disclaimer Unit information may be subject to change prior to commencement of the teaching period.
Assessment Assessment information will be published prior to commencement of the teaching period.
Learning Outcomes (LO) Upon completion of this unit, students will be able to:
  1. appreciate the nature of memories recorded through oral history interviews and their use as sources for social and historical research;
  2. understand and apply key theoretical, methodological and ethical concerns underpinning effective oral history interviews;
  3. assess critically the ways in which oral histories are used to interpret and present issues and topics in social and historical research; and
  4. plan and successfully complete an oral history interview project.

Graduate Attributes (GA)
Attribute Taught Assessed Practised
1 Knowledge of a Discipline
Oral history is an interdisciplinary methodology. It uses social science approaches and incorporates them into the study of history. Knowledge of the ways in which these discipines interact and inform each other will be taught through the unit learning materials, activities and the online discussions. It will be assessed through the written assignments. 		True True
2 Communication Skills
Students' skills in oral communication will be developed through conducting oral history interviews. Their skills in written communication will be taught (unit notes, online) and practised and assessed through a variety of exercises (literature review, interview evaluation, individual project work). 		True True True
3 Global Perspectives
Students will be introduced to international developments in oral history scholarship and will be required to utilise aspects of this scholarship in their individual projects. 		True True
4 Information Literacy
The unit requires students to become familiar with the use of audio recordings and ways of collecting and presenting them, to research and locate relevant sources through a variety of means (libraries, internet, local historical societies, community organisations), and to present their findings in a number of different forms (essay, interview evaluation, interview-based projects). 		True True True
5 Life-Long Learning
This unit encourages life-long learning through requiring students to reflect on their roles in the research process, and to enhance the range and depth of their research competencies with a particular emphasis on the skills and ethical issues involved in working with people as co-researchers. It encourages an analytical and imaginative approach to the development of oral history projects and research which extend beyond the unit. 		True
6 Problem Solving
A key element of the unit is an understanding of how oral historians have researched, analysed and interpreted the memories they record about the past, and the key historical problems and debates with which they are engaged. Students are required to resolve some of these issues in relation to a particular topic of their choice. 		True True True
7 Social Responsibility
As oral history scholarship is based on working with people, it raises significant ethical issues which are familiar in the social sciences but do not often surface in other forms of historical research and writing. Addressing these issues will enhance student appreciation of the need to consider and respect the privacy, confidentiality, needs and rights of others. 		True
8 Team Work
Students will practise their teamwork skills through participating in online discussion postings in a thoughtful and respectful manner. 		True
   

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