Dialogue: The Newsletter of the Oral History Section
Society of American Archivists
Summer 2017
From the Chair and Chair-Elect
Updates from our Chair, Mary Larson Read full article >>
SAA 2017 Oral History Section Session Description - Wednesday, July 26, 4:00-5:15 pm Read full article >>
Workshop Announcement
Baylor University Institute for Oral History Announces Online Introductory Oral History Workship
Available on two consecutive Wednesday mornings, February 7 and 14, 2018, the six-hour, interactive training attracts newcomers to oral history from around the world. Read full article >>
Oral History News
Baylor University Institute for Oral History Announces Launch of "Survivors of Genocide" Website
Baylor University Institute for Oral History
The Baylor University Institute for Oral History (BUIOH) is proud to announce the launch of its newest project website, "Survivors of Genocide." From May 2015 through October 2016, the Institute conducted fourteen oral histories with survivors of the genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda/Burundi, Bosnia, and Darfur, in order for survivors who now live in Texas to tell their stories of escaping the horrors of their homelands and finding a new life in the United States. Read full article >>
The Founders of American Sign Language Interpreters and Interpreter Educators
Carolyn Ball, Executive Director, VRS Interpreting Institute (VRSII)
This project shows how the stories of the early pioneers in the field of interpreting and interpreter education have influenced a growing profession. The interviews help to capture the origination and continuation of the profession of sign language interpreters and interpreter education. Read full article >>
The 2017 Chapter Oral History Project, Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas
Maureen Skorupa Keyes, Sisters of Mercy Mid-Atlantic Community Archives, Merion, PA
The Sisters of Mercy Archives Team, consisting of Archivists from the Mercy Heritage Center, located in Belmont, North Carolina, and Community Archivists from the Mid-Atlantic Community in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the West-Midwest Community in Omaha, Nebraska, has initiated the 2017 Chapter Oral History Project focused on governance in community life and leadership roles in the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. Read full article >>
Online Portal for Oklahoma Native Art of the Oklahoma Oral History Research Program, Oklahoma State University Library
Sarah Milligan, Head, Oklahoma Oral History Research Program and Associate Professor, Oklahoma State University Library
The Oklahoma Native Artist oral history project, a project of the Oklahoma Oral History Research Program (OOHRP) at the Oklahoma State University Library since 2010, independently documents the achievements of Oklahoma Native artists in various media across the state, and tracks the impact of festivals, collectors, gallery owners and art dealers on the state’s Native art scene. Read full article >>
American Folklife Center Launches Occupational Folklife Project Online
Kelly Revak, Processing Archivist, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
The American Folklife Center is pleased to announce the online launch of the Occupational Folklife Project (OFP), a major oral history initiative of the American Folklife Center (AFC) at the Library of Congress documenting the diverse culture of contemporary American workers. Read full article >>
Documenting Denver Activism Archives Project Undertakes a New Method of Oral History
Katrina Vandeven, Director, Documenting Denver Activism Archives Project
Following the 2016 election, Denver, Colorado has experienced a new wave of grassroots, activist activity. Citizens who had previously not interacted with the state are taking new measures to speak to their local and national governments, often en masse, in marches and rallies with attendance in the hundreds to tens of thousands. The Documenting Denver Activism Archives Project will be undertaking a case study in order to create a new methodology specific to documenting protests as they occur through a new method called ‘guerrilla oral history.’ Read full article >>
Audio, Film and Video Preservation and Access at the Oklahoma Historical Society
JA Pryse, Director of Digital Archives, and Rachel Mosman, Head Photo Archivist and Media Specialist, Oklahoma Historical Society
The Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) Research Division is comprised of numerous departments, each responsible for unique formats of archival materials. It is the main goal of the Digital Archives Division to identify and prioritize the methodical reformatting of all collections. The largest threats are to audio, film and video, for which we have developed a preservation and access worfklow. Read full article >>
Digitizing Oral History Projects at the University Archives, Texas State University
Lindsey D. Waldenberg, Graduate Assistant, Texas State University
With more than one hundred years’ worth of history to process and preserve, the University Archives (established 2006) at Texas State University has accomplished much in its eleven years of operation. One of the Archives’ most recent projects focuses on digitizing its oral history collections. Consisting of over two hundred interviews that span topics from alumnus President Lyndon B. Johnson to Texans’ roles in the early days of NASA, many of these oral histories had remained untouched since their creation ten, fifteen, and even thirty years ago. Read full article >>
