Open Access Oral History Training Module Now Available

Since March, I have been busy working with faculty and graduate students across the country to create oral histories that record the experience of COVID-19. Our project, The COVID-19 Oral History Project has teamed up with the Journal of the Plague Year (JOTPY) project, based at Arizona State University and hosted at the Roy Rosenzweig Center or History and New Media, to make these oral histories available to the public.

In addition to developing archival materials, this collaboration has resulted in scholarly conversations about archival practices, ethics, and pedagogy. We have also begun to produce publications. And, throughout the fall, we will be presenting at a number of conferences and workshops.

Among the items created through this dialogue have been teaching materials, including an Oral History Oral History Training Module. The first version of this module is available in Canvas through Indiana University. Special thanks in this effort are due to Rebecca Wingo, Carmen Coury, and Victoria Cain.

The current module focuses on the basics of oral history methods and provides users with details on how to participate in the COVID-19 Oral History Project. In coming months, we will be adding a readings section for graduate students as well as materials for teachers.