Blog

No guarantee of confidentiality

An inquest opened in Belfast on November 30 to investigate the deaths of ten people killed in controversial circumstances in 1971. Yet despite a delay of over 40 years, the coroner was unable to set a date for a hearing due to the absence of funding.  This is not an isolated case. There are currently 56 cases involving 97 deaths in which the families of victims of the Troubles in Northern Ireland are still waiting for inquests, of which 22 have been waiting for over 40 years. They include the families of those killed in some of the most controversial cases of the conflict, including the Ballymurphy Massacre in 1971 when ten people were allegedly shot by the British Army in West Belfast, and the Kingsmills Massacre in 1976 when ten protestant workmen were allegedly shot by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) on their way home from work in South Armagh.  These so-called “legacy inquests” are simply one aspect of an ongoing battle over how to deal with the past in Northern Ireland.  The full story here.  Read another article addressing the issue here.

Houston’s Response to AIDS

When Sarah Canby Jackson set out to research Houston's response to the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s and ’90s, she was soon shocked — there was virtually no scholarship on how the fourth-largest city in the United States responded to one of the most significant public health crises of the 20th century.  I found nothing," Jackson said. "I expected to find master's theses at Rice and the University of Houston. I expected an oral history project, but I found none of that." Read full article here.

A Neighborhood Remembers

One of the final interviews of Tuskegee Airman Roscoe Brown. A conversation with Rabbi Avraham Weiss. Surprising information from some of the members of the Sisters of Charity at the College of Mount Saint Vincent.  Those were just some of the audio interviews captured by volunteers and staff at the Riverdale branch of the New York Public Library for the project “Remembering Riverdale: Our Neighborhood Oral History.” The goal was to capture the life stories of the movers and shakers and the everyday residents of Riverdale. The project lasted for months and involved scores of volunteers, interviewers and interviewees, many of whom gathered at the Riverdale library branch in late November to celebrate the completion of their task.  To read complete article, with a link to the website click here.

Oral History Annual Meeting (USA)

Before we give up on 2016, we’re taking one last look back at one of our favorite events from the year – the OHA Annual Meeting. We’ve already talked about why oral historians love the connections they make at the Annual Meeting, and how it serves as a yearly dose of sanity. Today we bring you some final reflections from Mark Garcia, who served as our local guide during the meeting and managed social media throughout the conference. Enjoy his summary, and make sure to get your proposal for #OHA2017 in soon. The conference, entitled “Engaging Audiences: Oral History and the Public” will be held in Minneapolis, and the deadline for submissions is 31 January. We look forward to seeing you there.  Read full article here.

Before we give up on 2016, we’re taking one last look back at one of our favorite events from the year – the OHA Annual Meeting. We’ve already talked about why oral historians love the connections they make at the Annual Meeting, and how it serves as a yearly dose of sanity. Today we bring you some final reflections from Mark Garcia, who served as our local guide during the meeting and managed social media throughout the conference. Enjoy his summary, and make sure to get your proposal for #OHA2017 in soon. The conference, entitled “Engaging Audiences: Oral History and the Public” will be held in Minneapolis, and the deadline for submissions is 31 January. We look forward to seeing you there. – See more at: http://blog.oup.com/2016/12/oral-history-annual-meeting-recap/#sthash.ghCMftEL.dpuf

Remembering Pearl Harbor

On the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, the Japanese military launched a surprise attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor. On that clear Sunday morning, several Eastern Connecticut residents were assigned to ships, submarines and artillery posts in the area.  At 7:48 a.m., the base was attacked by 353 planes carrying bullets, bombs and torpedoes. There was little warning for the Americans below.  What follows is an oral history of that December morning, as recalled by local veterans in stories that appeared in The Bulletin through the years. While most of the witnesses to history that day have since died, the memories of their experiences live on.  Read full article here.

Led Zeppelin Greatest Hits

Below is an excerpt from Marc Myers’ new book “Anatomy of a Song: The Oral History of 45 Iconic Hits That Changed Rock, R&B, and Pop” (Grove Press), which you can buy on Amazon. In it, Myers talks to Led Zeppelin member Jimmy Page and collaborators about the making of one of the band’s hits that changed rock history, “Whole Lotta Love.” Released in November 1969, the song helped kick off a wave of more experimental rock on radio. To read more click here.

Doing Oral History

Oral history is our most ancient tradition, and today we have the technology to make oral history more permanent and enduring. Consider the iPhone for example. You can record up to 50 minutes of video on it and can record almost unlimited amounts of audio using the voice memos app. It is unobtrusive and, using a flexible little tripod Scatena showed the group, can be easily set up to record.  For full story click here.

Battle for the Aleutian Islands

Ramon Rivas' daughter interviewed her father about this little known battle.  Dutch Harbor is on the island of Unalaska. It’s part of the Aleutian Island chain in the Bering Strait off the coast of Alaska.  The Aleutians are treeless, volcanic islands and had been fairly isolated, until the 1940s.  But World War II brought change to that remote part of the U.S. Read full story and listen to audio here.