Please see the following sites as examples of exemplary oral history projects!

Civil Rights in Mississippi Digital Archives

Documenting the American South

Studs Terkel Radio Archive

“Telling Their Stories” – Oral History Archive Project of the Urban School

Voices from the Dust Bowl

What is Oral History?

Oral history is an effort to capture experiences which have, in many cases, been left out of the traditional historical record. As articulated in the Principles for Oral History and Best Practices for Oral History (Oral History Association, 2009) "oral history refers both to a method of recording and preserving oral testimony and to the product of that process. It begins with an audio or video recording of a first person account made by an interviewer with an interviewee (also referred to as narrator), both of whom have the conscious intention of creating a permanent record to contribute to an understanding of the past. A verbal document, the oral history, results from this process and is preserved and made available in different forms to other users, researchers, and the public. A critical approach to the oral testimony and interpretations are necessary in the use of oral history."