This course provides an overview of the theory and practice of oral history from creation to curation for historians, social scientists, archivists, librarians, museum curators and all others interested in creating oral histories or tasked with looking after oral history materials. Thematically the course breaks down into six components:

1. the historiography, varieties and applications of oral history;

2. the ethics of oral history and similar qualitative research methods;

3. planning and managing an oral history project;

4. conducting successful interviews;

5. after the interview - analyzing and using oral history in public, academic and other spheres, including consideration of use in the digital space;

6. curation and the oral history archive - cataloguing and preserving oral history collections in digital environments.

By the end of the course students should:

· understand and be able to demonstrate the benefits and challenges of conducting oral history interviews;

· have a sound knowledge of the history of oral history and the variety of applications and techniques;

· be able to plan and accomplish a successful oral history project;

· understand the important role that oral history can play within wider history projects such as family, organisational, community or elite histories;

· be aware of ethical challenges faced by oral historians before, during, and after the interview, and the approaches by which these challenges can be met;

· have read widely and critically about oral history using journals, books and online materials;

· have arranged, prepared, recorded, documented, and archived at least three interviews (or one extended life history interview);

· be aware of the range of recording technologies and formats available to oral historians and some of challenges they pose;

· explore the range of possibilities for transcribing, analyzing and using oral history materials in digital environments;

· understand the importance of documentation within the oral history project for cataloguing and future use;

· have an understanding of the different challenges involved in the preservation of oral history materials;

· have explored the significant impact of the internet and digital formats for the use of and access to oral history;

· be aware of a range of international oral history projects, institutions and associations.