Category: Uncategorized

Wartime reflection

The military is a total institution and army chaplains are embedded in it.  For full story click here.

he military is a total institution and army chaplains are embedded deeply within it. – See more at: http://blog.oup.com/2015/10/wartime-oral-history/#sthash.hLWdvSG6.dpuf
he military is a total institution and army chaplains are embedded deeply within it. They wear the uniforms and the rank, they salute and are saluted. I was reminded how deeply embedded we are when I arrived at the US Army Chaplain Center and School at Ft. Jackson, South Carolina about two weeks ago. I was there to fulfill my obligations as a reserve chaplain for two weeks. After that, I would be shipping back to Austin, Texas, the post-hippy, techy, progressive university town I call home. – See more at: http://blog.oup.com/2015/10/wartime-oral-history/#sthash.hLWdvSG6.dpufhe military is a total institution and army chaplains are embedded deeply within it. They wear the uniforms and the rank, they salute and are saluted. I was reminded how deeply embedded we are when I arrived at the US Army Chaplain Center and School at Ft. Jackson, South Carolina about two weeks ago. I was there to fulfill my obligations as a reserve chaplain for two weeks. After that, I would be shipping back to Austin, Texas, the post-hippy, techy, progressive university town I call home. – See more at: http://blog.oup.com/2015/10/wartime-oral-history/#sthash.hLWdvSG6.dpuf

Aboriginal storytelling accurate

The importance placed on the oral traditions of Aboriginal people should be re-evaluated in light of recent developments in understanding, according to an academic from the University of New England.  A team, made up of academics from UNE and Sunshine Coast University, has compared Aboriginal stories about sea level rises to an independently established chronology of sea level rise between 18,000 and 7,000 years ago.  Professor Nicholas Reid from UNE said the team found the 21 stories analysed to be an accurate representation of what happened. For full story click here.

Paul Keating oral history

As Paul Keating tells it, it all began at the Hoyts Civic Theatre at Bankstown, NSW, in 1955. He was 11 years old and utterly transfixed – and for years later haunted – by Jedda, the first Australian feature film to use Aboriginal actors in lead roles.

"It was a very powerful film set in the Northern Territory and, in a way, it mirrored aspects of the stolen generations," he tells Kerry O'Brien in Keating, the 794-page narrated oral history of his life in politics. "It ended in tragedy for the two Aboriginal people and left me with a sense that this was their place and we were all interlopers."

Sephardi Association website

"Objects can tell us much about the past; about ways of life, culture, values and about ourselves. They can take on vastly different meanings from one person to another – the adage ‘one man’s trash is another man’s treasure’ comes to mind. But if you were forced to pack up your life into one small suitcase, what objects would you choose to keep? For many of the people in this project, that was a choice they faced at one time in their lives." To see photos of objects and listen to the associated stories click on the website here.

Ted Kennedy Oral History

The late Senator Ted Kennedy was a Washington, D.C. legend, serving 47 years in Congress.  This week, the University of Virginia’s Miller Center will release part of the oral history it compiled on Kennedy, working from 300 interviews it did with him and those who knew him.  For full story click here and to read the transcripts (no audio) click here.

Canadian WWII Veterans

A new exhibit at the Dorval Museum of Local History and Heritage brings the bloody conflict to life with stories and souvenirs from some of Dorval’s own veterans.  Survival and Resilience: A Tribute to World War II Veterans showcases artifacts belonging to more than a dozen veterans as well as a video featuring first-person accounts from three local veterans, still living and now in their 90s. See full story and watch video here.

Oral History and Artists

A collection of oral history interviews on the subject of an artist’s life increases the resources available to interpret her or his work. As an oral historian, Sarah Dziedzic always see this as a positive outcome. Hearing firsthand from a curator who spoke to the artist about the work, or a fabricator who lent material expertise, or from a fellow artist whose work comes out of a similar historical context, can generate volumes of new information with which to consider and understand an individual or collected body of work. For full story click here.

Surviving Kamikaze Pilots tell their story

‘It sounds strange, but we were congratulating each other for being selected’ for the special suicide attack unit. ‘When I knew we had lost the war … the thought going through my mind was I had missed my chance to die … and be remembered in infinite glory.’ Two Japanese veterans share memories of the second world war and the aftermath of the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima.  For full story and video interview excerpts click here.

Russian author wins Nobel Prize for Literature

"Though Belarusian writer Svetlana Alexievich has been the recipient of multiple European book awards, her work has gone largely unrecognized in the United States. It’s probably due to the fact that she writes in Russian, and only four of her books have been translated into English."  She uses oral history interviews for many of her stories.  For full article click here.

Presenting the interview

What happens to the oral history interview once the microphone is turned off, and the individual or identity leaves the chair and walks away from the table? Join the conversation about oral history storytelling, the artefact, and the treatments often applied to them. Click here to register for this free presentation.