Research Using Special Collections and Archives

What is Oral History?

Definition: According to the Society of American Archivists' Dictionary of Archives Terminology:
 Oral History is a recording of an individual's history and memories of past events.

• Oral histories can include audio or video recordings, interview transcripts, and other documentation related to oral history projects.
• They may be formatted as a recording of an individual's memories or family stories, or they may be formatted as structured interviews between an individual (the interviewee) and an oral historian. The Oral History Association Core Principles defines oral history as the interview process and the final recorded interview produced during an oral history interview.

What Oral History Can Do: Oral histories are primary sources that provide a spoken firsthand account from a participant or witness of a particular event or time period. They are one of the oldest methods of documenting history. Oral history interviews provide us with a unique opportunity to learn about the past from the people who lived it in their own words.

Personal history shared through the documentation of individual papers, artifacts, photographs, or oral history interviews is different than a secondary resource like a textbook or journal article. Oral history interviews are personal recollections of past events and experiences that are unique to the individuals being interviewed. These interviews can help us better understand larger social contexts and individual experiences within them when studying history.

Oral History Interviews and Identity Class Activity

For your class project, find and access an oral history interview from Special Collections and Archives in order to learn about the personal identity of the individual from the interview, and the historical, societal, and personal contexts in which they lived.

• Step 1: Visit the Collections link in the navigation bar at the left, which provides information about the various types of collections at the Special Collections and Archives. Explore our collections for topics that interest you and learn how to access our materials.
   
• Step 2: Identify a finding aid for a collection containing an oral history interview with an individual with an identity different than you own. The oral histories below may also discuss a social justice issue in Baltimore that you might find interesting and want to learn more about for your other assignment. Remember to read/search the text transcripts when you can!
  Oral History Collections for Your Project:
  • Baltimore Neighborhood Heritage Project (BNHP)
  • Baltimore Sixty-Eight Riots Collection (BSR)
  • Baltimore Voices Company (BVC)
  • East Baltimore Oral History (EBOH)
  • Negro League Oral History (NLOH)
  • People’s Community Health Center Oral History (PCH)
  • Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center of Baltimore and Central Maryland Records (GLCCB)
  • Waxter Center Oral Histories Collection (WCO)
     
• Step 3: Listen, watch, and/or read the transcript of the interview you selected. Depending which digitized resources are available for that interview, you may have access to an audio recording, a video recording, or a text transcript for the interview. 
  Tip: PDF Interview Transcripts are searchable!
   
• Step 4: What can you learn about the interviewee? What can you learn about their personal identity and history or their personal experiences?
   
• Step 5: Consider also looking at the Digital Exhibits and Digitized Collections section of this guide to learn more about the people and history of Baltimore.
  Identify secondary resources from the RLB Library to help you learn more about the people and and issues they encountered in their lives.
   
• Assignment: 
  • Research an identity different than your own and present on your findings and what you learned to your class.
  • Incorporate sources from RLB Library and Special Collections and Archives into your paper.
     

Social Justice and Public Service Announcement Class Activity

• Step 1: Visit the Collections link in the navigation bar at the left, which provides information about the various types of collections at the UB Special Collections & Archives. Explore our collections for topics that interest you and learn how to access our materials.
   
• Step 2: Identify a finding aid for a collection from the Digital Exhibits and Digitized Collections section of this guide and/or from the Oral History Collections section of this guide discussing a social justice issue in Baltimore that you find interesting and want to learn more about.
  
  Some specific digital exhibits and collections with digitized materials you may find interesting as they related to housing issues, urban renewal, the Baltimore Road Fights, redlining in Baltimore, and related issues include:
  • Stop the Road! Records from the Road Fights
  • Imagining a Model Urban Neighborhood
  • What is Urban Renewal?
  • Looking Back on Baltimore Neighborhoods, Inc.
  • What Remains: The 1975 Poppleton Historic Survey
  • Citizens Housing Council of Baltimore
  • Model Urban Neighborhood Demonstration   
  • Baltimore Urban Renewal & Housing Authority
  • Betty Garman Robinson Papers
  • Baltimore Neighborhoods, Inc.
  • Tenants Union Group Collection
  • Urban Renewal Files
  • Greater Baltimore Committee
  • People’s Community Health Center Oral History
• Step 3: Identify secondary resources from the RLB Library to help you learn more about the people and social justice issue you have selected for your assignment. 
   
• Assignment: Create your own public service announcement to raise awareness about a social justice issue in Baltimore City.
  The selected social justice issues include:
  • Redlining in Baltimore
  • Infrastructure discrepancies in Baltimore
  • Mental Health Stigmas (ADHD) in Baltimore