Oral History Assignment/Presentation (200 points): 

• Students will prepare a twenty-minute oral presentation based on an oral history interview. 
• Each presentation will be presented to, and critiqued by, the rest of the class. 
• Students will turn in a typed, double-spaced outline of their presentation (including background/context of the project, the subject matter, and any sources used). 
• The presentation must convey important information about the oral history project to the entire class, and can include a variety of elements including (but not limited to) audio/visual aids, photographs, artifacts, etc…(be creative, within reason). 
• The class should have a sense of the importance of your research findings.  What do you believe is so important that the other students just have to know? 
• PowerPoint, and any other media used, will be evaluated as part of the presentation. 
• Any topic having to do with life in the North Dakota is fair game for this assignment.  It is recommended that students select a topic related to their final research topic.

Peer Critiques (50 points):  Students will earn up to fifty points for classmate critiques they write for the oral history presentations.

Background Research

Your presentation to the class will be a combination of the story of your informant and your background research.  You should consult and cite a minimum of five written sources (books, articles, web sites, etc…) as part of your background research and preparation.

Interviewing

Be sure to explain to the person you will interview that you are doing this as an assignment, and that it will be shared with your fellow students.  Conduct the interview in a place where the person is comfortable.  It is usually best if no other people are present.  Prepare questions to ask before hand, do background research to prepare, and have a plan for how you would like the interview to develop—although remain open for the interview to evolve in unexpected directions if it turns out to be useful to your research.  You are not required to record the interview; however, you may do so if you wish so that you can ensure you have all the information available for later use.  Recording the interview will allow you some leeway while taking notes in case you forget something.

Organization of the Report

Your presentation should be a good historical essay with an introduction that draws people in.  State a thesis, or main point; develop a body that provides background and relates the experience of your informant; and a conclusion that pulls things together while assessing their significance.  Be creative.  Include scans of photos, letters, images of objects that relate to the interview, audio/video clips of your interview, anything to inspire and enthuse your audience. 

Bibliography

No footnotes are required, but at the end of your presentation, provide a bibliography.  Arrange your sources (your written background sources, along with the oral interview) in the format for bibliographies specified by Turabian.

FIRST TIME PREPARATION

Getting ready to interview the first time will take more organization than you might anticipate.

• Prepare a list of questions and topics ahead of time.  Avoid questions that have only a yes or no answer.
• Make sure your equipment works, and know how to use it.  Have a tape recorder and a microphone which can be plugged into the recorder.  Make sure your recorder has a pause button, and use a 90 minute audio cassette.
• Have a supply of good tapes and have them all properly labeled:

• Have a release form ready to be signed before beginning the interview (issues here include copyright, who may use interview and how it may be used).
• Establish a quiet location for conducting the interview without interference from outside listeners and noise.
• Enjoy the interview. Hopefully, you will get some great stories from your interviewee.

Additional Sources:

Dakota Memories Oral History Project at the Germans from Russia Heritage Center, NDSU

see also: Oral History Projects from the GRHC

Veterans' History Project at the Library of Congress

42explore2.com/oralhst.htm

dohistory.org/on_your_own/toolkit/oralHistory.html

Ancestry.com