Update: March 25, 2020
Dear Friends,
We have been monitoring the current health crisis. As oral historians, we work without scripts, accustomed by training to suspend disbelief, but nothing prepared us for the pandemic or to deliver the news that we must cancel our onsite July Oral History Summer School workshop in Maine. Our summer workshops and the new short courses held throughout the year are the lifeblood of Oral History Summer School; they are the occasion to show up, do the work and satisfy our mission: train, interview, archive, share, interpret.
Though our on-site 2020 workshops are cancelled, we remain committed to gathering together to do this work. We are offering an online option to replace our scheduled workshop:
Summer Online Workshop
This workshop will engage students from around the world in synchronous and asynchronous sessions through mini-lectures, interactive exercises, case studies and interview practice. Students will learn from lead instructor, OHSS director Suzanne Snider, and a range of guest instructors who will prepare presentations of their work and be available for questions from students. This workshop involves interview training and practice. Date and Tuition TBD.
[BELOW IS INFORMATION ABOUT THE CANCELLED JULY WORKSHOP]
Instructor: Suzanne Snider
Location: Portland, Maine (Deering Center)
Dates: July 10 - 14, 2020
Join us for our first 5-day foundational training! We’re excited to bring this work to a new location (Portland, Maine) in partnership/collaboration with the audio production company Future Projects (Josie Holtzman, Isaac Kestenbaum) at their Portland studio. This workshop will cover ethics, interview techniques and recording tutorials as well as sessions on memory, trauma, project design and archives.
In exploring the unique narrative space afforded by this interview practice, we will think about how oral history can address problems and inspire solutions, within a collaborative framework. Oral history projects from the realms of museums, public health, reproductive choice and housing instability will serve as models and springboards as we think about future projects, projects in-the-work or reflect on our past work.
This workshop is a good fit for those who want to learn about oral history to pursue family histories, institutional histories, social movement history and mission-driven work as well as other kinds of projects (research/scholarship, longform narrative, documentary, etc).
Days will be divided between listening exercises, presentations, group discussions, hands-on technical training and small group work. All are welcome.