University Seminar
Oral History Theory, Methodology and Representation

This seminar is devoted to understanding the methodological and theoretical purposes of oral history as a research methodology, and an emerging interdisciplinary field bridging the humanities and the social sciences. Presenters in the seminar will explore the uses of oral history for documenting the lives of individuals in communities: across localities, cultures and nationalities. Scholars will present original research using oral history to document the construction, interpretation and representation of identity based on ethnicity, race, gender, generation, class, sexuality and the existence of the body in culture, history and nature. The seminar will also focus on specific issues that arise in oral history regarding historical research and analysis. Faculty from the humanities and social sciences, as well as community scholars and activists engaged in documenting the communities in which they live and work, are invited to join seminar discussions. The seminar was founded in 1998 through a Rockefeller Foundation supported fellowship Program.

Co-Chairs: Mary Marshall Clark, Director; Leo Spitzer, History Department

[to be announced]

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