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Japanese-American Soldiers in World War II

“This video archive is a collaborative project between the University of Southern California Library and the Go For Broke National Education Center in the US, which seeks to share knowledge about the experiences of American World War II veterans of Japanese ancestry.” Read more here with link to the video collection.

Palliative Care Interviews

“It is a pretty universal question: how will the world remember us when we are gone? For terminally ill patients, the question may be more urgent than for most. In Canberra, people in palliative care have the chance to — literally — write their own legacy, through a project called Life Stories. The program is the brainchild of Palliative Care ACT, which enlists a team of volunteers to record the reflections of people with life-threatening medical conditions.” Read more here. Palliative Care ACT CEO Tracy Gillard has confirmed the recordings are given to the interviewee and/or their family, as well as the book.

1970 Kent State Shootings

“Mathew McManus, one of eight Ohio National Guard members who were indicted and acquitted in the fatal Kent State shootings that transpired on May 4, 1970, can still recall what he saw and did that day as a sergeant for Company A. “The troops reached the top of the hill and I was in front of them… The line suddenly turned. Did an about-face. These men are in gas masks. Their sight is limited. So, they were going by feel; what this person did, they did. So, it was a chain reaction, right across the line. The weapons were coming down almost like dominoes from my left to my right.” McManus said. He noticed another superior officer running down the line, grabbing the ends of rifles and shoving them toward the sky. ” Read full story here.

Indian Film Archive Project

“On the occasion of the 151st birth anniversary of Dadasaheb Phalke, hailed as the ‘Father of Indian cinema’, the city-based National Film Archive of India (NFAI) has published 8,000 minutes of audio recordings on its website in the form of interviews with renowned artistes and technicians recounting the fascinating journey of Indian cinema.” Read full story here, includes link to the recordings.

Students learn history with COVID project

“In her first year on campus, a unique opportunity presented itself to Dr. Rachel Miller, courtesy of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We study them (historical events and periods), we look at them in the rearview mirror,” said Miller, an assistant professor of history. “But rarely do we have room in a history class to process what it’s like to live through all that.” Read more here.

Pride in Defence

“ACU historian Professor Noah Riseman has been shortlisted for the Ernest Scott Prize for his book Pride in Defence: The Australian Military & LGBTI Service since 1945. The book, written with Shirleene Robinson and published by Melbourne University Press, is one of only six books from a list of 67 shortlisted for the prize.” Read more here.

Students explore past through interviewing

“Long before there were text messages, property records, depositions or love letters, before there was a keyboard, printing press, quill pens or even crudely sharpened stones that could carve into the wall of a cave, people were learning about life from other people’s stories. And thousands of years later, we still like learning things that way, says historian Roger Horowitz.

“The past is not abstract,” he said. “It’s about John, Sam, Irving, Phyllis. And that connects with the way we most want to learn about history — through their stories.”

Horowitz recently taught students at the University of Delaware how to capture and curate such stories, collaborating with the Jewish Historical Society of Delaware on an oral history project that focused on senior members of the Jewish population in Wilmington, Delaware.” Read full story with link to website here.

Exploring oral history at Smithsonian

“Oral history is an integral part of the research and culture at the Smithsonian. But while there are historians, researchers, curators, and volunteers across the Institution conducting oral history interviews, there is no central oral history office or collection at the Smithsonian. Since the medium gained popularity with the rise of social history during the mid-20th century, the Smithsonian considers oral history a methodological tool of research, preservation, and interpretation.” Read more here.