Blog – OHQ

Wendy Lowenstein

A short documentary about pioneering oral historian Wendy Lowenstein and her involvement in the Australian folk music scene will be available for free viewing in a webinar on 8 October 2023.

Wendy Lowenstein

The 25-minute documentary ‘What Wendy found’ was produced by her children Martie and Richard Lowenstein. They are currently fundraising with a view to turning the documentary into a feature film. Wendy Lowenstein recorded interviews with over 800 everyday people from around Australia over a period of 40 years from 1965. Her interviewees told her of their struggles to obtain better working and living conditions. She not only recorded their stories but wrote about them in several books. Find out more here.

Sydney Oral Histories

“We delve into the treasure trove of the City of Sydney’s oral history collection to mark History Week and this year’s theme, ‘Voices from the Past’.” See the interviews here.https://news.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/articles/voices-from-the-past-come-to-life-during-history-week

Afghanistan Women’s Stories

“A University of Texas at Arlington educator who was forced to flee Afghanistan when the Taliban regained control two years ago this month is leading an oral history project that elevates the voices of fellow Afghan women refugees. Roshan Mashal, a specialist in UTA’s Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies (GWSS) program, is co-leading The RUG Project, which recognizes the resilience of Afghan women, promotes global unity and guides efforts for social change. With support from the GWSS program, faculty members from the Department of Communication – Dustin Harp, Chyng-Yang Jang, Brian Horton and Andrew Clark – the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Mina’s List and the Afghan American Foundation, The RUG Project spotlights the stories and experiences of Afghan women refugees to guide educators, activists, policymakers and journalists working to advance women’s rights as human rights.” See full story here.

Churchill Archives Centre

“The Churchill Archives Centre is a world-leading collection of 20th century history, holding a wide-range of documents by more than 570 political, military & scientific luminary figures from the Churchill era and beyond. To mark the 50th Anniversary of The Churchill Archives Centre, we are proud to announce the launch of our free Access Portal. The website allows researchers worldwide to explore archival material shared online for the first time.” See full story here.

The History Makers

A website that shows collection The History Makers which is about significant African-Americans. Includes a 60 Minutes story about founder Julianna Richardson. Find out more here.

Wildlife Films “Memory of the World”

“The Wildlife Filmmaking Oral Histories Collection is a series of oral history video interviews and transcripts with wildlife film-makers which were recorded between 1998-2011. They form a key part of the Wildlife Archive.” See full story with video links here.

StoryCorps is 20 years old

“Outsiders may regularly describe StoryCorps as a giant oral history project capturing snapshots of American life in the 21^st Century, but Daniel Horowitz Garcia doesn’t. He says what StoryCorps does is right there in its name. It collects stories.” Read full story here.

Australian Migrant History

“Eva Boleti and Samuel He are part of a quest to help rethink Australia in many languages – one historical source at a time. By uncovering Greek and Chinese migrant stories, they contribute to an ambitious project to rewrite perceptions of Australia’s historical narrative.” See full story about the project here.

British Library Collection

“This British Library-funded programme of interviews started in 2003 with the aim of recording the pioneers and leaders of oral history in the UK dating from the 1950s onwards.” Read full story with links to interviews here.

Australian Greek Project

“The University of Sydney has commenced a research study focused on multilingualism, to assess the effect of immigration on Australia’s identity. The project titled ‘Opening the Multilingual Archive of Australia’ (OMAA) is being led by Professor Adrian Vickers, with a full team of researchers from diverse linguistic backgrounds.” Read more here.