There will never be another radio-talk-show host, oral historian, raconteur, or colorful character like Studs Terkel, who died 10 years ago, on October 31, 2008. Today, organizers, activists, and academics emphasize the importance of people “telling their stories” in order to insert a human element in political battles and to “shape the narrative” of how we look at social movements. Terkel reinvented the study of history and contemporary politics by giving ordinary people an opportunity to tell their stories. Read full story here.
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The Joh Tapes
A series of interviews with past Queensland Premier, Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen about his style of government and factors which shaped that style. Find how to access here.
State Library NSW to make oral histories accessible
Central West Libraries, Ryde Library Service, Wagga Wagga Libraries and Wollongong Libraries will be the first public libraries in Australia to use a new tool created by SLNSW, Amplify, which allows anyone to search, listen to and transcribe local audio collections. For full story click here.
Campbelltown Residents Share Their Stories
“People pass away and their memories go with them – that’s why it’s so important we get them recorded.” Campbelltown’s oldest residents always have some good stories to share. It’s lucky, then, that Campbelltown’s HJ Daley Library has a collection of oral histories recorded with senior citizens. For full story click here.
Alaska Native Women
The world could go to hell, but Alaska Natives would survive, 70-year-old Connie Timmerman said. She wants her grandkids, whether male or female, to know how their ancestors subsisted from Bristol Bay’s land and sea. “Us women we could do anything. It’s a tough life, but you could do it if you set mind to it. And I truly believe that,” Timmerman told interviewers last summer. “We’re capable just as much as our men are. And it’s a good companionship, that way I think it’s healthier. You work together.” For full story click here.
Monticello Descendants
Monticello has always been filled with the rich history of its most famous resident, Thomas Jefferson, whose story has been told and retold through the years. But the plantation — nestled in mountains in Charlottesville, Virginia — has also had to reckon with its painful history of slavery. In addition to being the third president of the United States and writer of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson owned more than 600 people. For full story, click here.
The Past May Help Improve the Future
Agnes Arnold-Forster says: In my current research, I conduct oral history interviews with practising and recently retired surgeons. I ask them to narrate their lives and we explore together the emotions of their personal and professional experiences. When asked about the emotional cost of care and their working conditions, almost all hark back to an era before the introduction of the EU working time directive. They reflect on the compassionate connections they could form with their patients when they were able to maintain continuity of care and talk about long working hours that were made bearable by the emotional support provided by the “firm.” For full story click here.
Cambodian Oral History Project
From 1975 to 1979, Raet and the country of Cambodia lived in terror under the reign of the Khmer Rouge communist party and its leader, Pol Pot. Millions of Cambodian people were kicked out of their homes, forced to labor in rice fields without adequate food or rest and dragged to treacherous prisons where they were tortured and later executed. See full story here.
Ireland in 1963
Kevin Kearns says: I am an explorer, seeking discoveries long uncharted, unchronicled – people, places, events, missed or dismissed over the years. See more here.
Libraries in South Australia
The idea of interviewing older Murray Bridge citizens turned out to be quite a labour of love involving a small group of volunteers. Following an oral history workshop in April 2009 some volunteers began contacting local participants in order to start the project. Their stories were recorded initially on a memory card, re-processed onto individual compact discs at the State Library’s technology department and duly returned. See full story here.