“Soon after the first lockdown in March 2020 the British Library oral history team suspended all face to face oral history interviews. Cut off from our established workflows and working from home we were faced with the same question as everyone else, what now?” Read full article here.
Blog
Hillary Clinton OH Project
“Interviews are underway for the University of Virginia Miller Center of Public Affairs’ latest oral history project about the career of Hillary Clinton.
The project is the first time the center has tackled an oral history about a woman and one of only a handful about a non-president.
“It’s very exciting to be working on a principal who is a woman, and as a woman political scientist, in my case, to be studying a woman who has had such an impact on American politics and the world and came very close to being the first woman president,” said Barbara Perry, director of presidential studies at the Miller Center.” Find out more here.
Army History Research Grants
Applications close COB 5 March 2021.
“The Australian Army History Unit (AAHU) values new or unique research that contributes to a deeper understanding of the history of the Australian Army and can contribute to Army’s current and future development and the professional military education of its members. The Australian Army History Research Grants Scheme (referred to as the Scheme) was established in 1993 to support and encourage original research into the history of the Australian Army.
Since its inception, the Scheme has supported over 300 researchers and has a strong record of accomplishment in delivering unique research that promotes and contributes to a deeper understanding of Army’s history. AAHU encourages applications from a broad field of researchers, either individually or as a team.
Grants are available up to a maximum amount of $15, 000 for one year. For significant research projects, multi-year grants are available for up $15, 000 per year for up to three consecutive years (to a maximum of $45, 000). As this Scheme involves the gifting of public monies, it undergoes a rigorous assessment and approval process and requires ministerial approval. The announcement of successful and unsuccessful applications can take 6-9 months from the closing date.” Learn more here.
Victoria’s Path to Treaty
“As Victoria moves forward with Treaty negotiations, the State Government has launched Deadly and Proud, a platform to empower Victoria’s Aboriginal stories. Launched on Monday, the Deadly and Proud campaign is encouraging Victorians to celebrate truth-telling and local Aboriginal history.” Read full story here.
COVID Project in Washington State
“KUOW reporters have spent the last year passing the mic to you, collecting your stories in an ambitious oral history project called Voices of the Pandemic. In this one-hour special, we listen back to some of what you’ve shared. Washingtonians have adapted to Covid, but it hasn’t been easy. The last year has been one of grief and hard-won joy, of isolation and fragile moments of togetherness.” Listen to the sound file at the start of the article here.
American Sleep Researcher Dies
“Rosalind Dymond Cartwright, whose groundbreaking research on sleep prompted other scientists to crown her “the Queen of Dreams,” once said her remarkable career was inspired by conversations heard at the family dinner table growing up.” Read more here about this interesting scientist and see her interview video here.
COVID Project in England
“A University of Manchester team of researchers and volunteers who have been documenting NHS voices of COVID-19 since March, are to join forces with the British Library thanks a grant of nearly £1m. Dr Stephanie Snow, who leads the influential ‘NHS at 70’ project, and her team have already collected over 200 COVID-19 voices, including Nick Hart, the respiratory doctor who treated Prime Minister Boris Johnson in intensive care.” Read more here and click link at end of article to hear interview excerpts.
Peer Support Meeting
You are invited to join other OHQ members to discuss your current or proposed projects at the next of these meetings on 20 February 2021 10.00 am to 12.00 pm via Zoom, facilitated by member Anne Monsour. Everyone is welcome to join in to learn, and share their experiences.
Let’s focus on the challenges of interviewing. Who are you interviewing, why, how? What challenges have these interviews presented? How will you use these interviews?
If you have different issues in relation to your oral history practice that you would like to discuss, let us know. Email info@ohq.org.au with your RSVP and specific issues/topics you wish to discuss. You will then receive the Zoom link information. This is a great opportunity for members from all over Queensland to receive advice and interact with other members.
COVID in Singapore
“Oral records provide a rich understanding of how the pandemic unfolded through first-person accounts. This is why the National Archives of Singapore (NAS) has been conducting 10 in-depth interviews from a diverse selection of profiles each month. The subjects range from healthcare professionals and officers on duty to patients and people living through the upheaval that COVID-19 has wrought.” Read full story with link to project here.
Telescope Scientist Dies
“George R. Carruthers, an astrophysicist and engineer who was the principal designer of a telescope that went to the moon as part of NASA’s Apollo 16 mission in 1972 in an effort to examine Earth’s atmosphere and the composition of interstellar space, died Dec. 26 at a Washington hospital. He was 81.” Read full story with link to his oral history interview here.