For this assignment, you will conduct an interview of a resident of California about their historical experiences.
Developing Questions
Your goal in the interview is to deepen your understanding of California history by getting a personal perspective on historical events. Your interview questions should therefore focus on both the personal and the historical. Generally, you want to keep your questions fairly broad, so that your subject will be able to answer fully. Avoid yes/no questions.
Your questions should be focused primarily on understanding how your interviewee has experienced life here in California. How has California shaped them, and how have they shaped California?
Your first questions should establish basic personal information about your subject. You should ask about demographic background, level of education, where the subject was born and raised, family background (economic class, number of siblings, parents’ profession and level of education) etc.
Then, ask questions about their experiences with historical events and trends.
Below are some suggestions for question topics. Please note that some of these questions are personal or sensitive; they may not be appropriate for a person you do not know well. In addition, if your subject does not want to answer a particular question, respect that.
- Their family’s experience with the Great Depression in California
- Their family’s experience with the World War II in California
- Their family’s experience with the Vietnam War
- Their perspective on Civil Rights Movement, and protest movements in California in the 60s and 70s.
- Changes in the roles of women during the subject’s lifetime
- Involvement with / opposition to the labor movement
- Impact of race or racism on the subject’s life
- Impact of religion on the subject’s life, and how that religion is perceived in California.
- Immigrant experience, if relevant.
- Views on immigration and how it has shaped California
- The role of pop culture (radio, TV, music) in the subject’s life
- Subject’s opinion of various presidents, governors & their policies
- How did the Covid pandemic impact them?
- Subject’s political affiliation and political beliefs
- Changes in California’s landscape and communities over the years
- Changes in American / Californian politics during the subject’s life
- Questions particular to the specific community (ethnic, racial, religious, etc.) to which the subject belongs.
- Differences between how young people live today and how they lived “back in the day.”
- Your subject's experiences during recent events, such as earthquakes, wildfires or the pandemic.
Researching Context
After you have conducted the interview, spend some time researching the historical context of the events they described. For example, if your interviewee grew up in Monterey in the 1960s, do a bit of research on the history of Monterey to understand what was happening in that community at that time. Or, if your subject was a member of a labor union, research the history of that union. You might also look up newspapers from the periods your subject discusses to get a sense of the era.Research skills will be taught during the course of the semester. Writing Up the InterviewAfter you have conducted the interview and completed your contextual research, write up a five to six page essay in which you present the results of the interview. In your essay, please address the following three areas:Your Interviewee’s Story- A description of who your subject is, and when you interviewed them. You must include their name.
- Summarize the main points of the interview.
- What about the interview surprised or intrigued you? What did you learn that you didn’t know before?
- Place the events of your subject’s life in historical context. For example, if your subject lived in Berkeley in the 60s, give some background on what was happening in Berkeley during that period.
- Consider how your subject’s life fits in to the larger context of California history. In what way are the events of your interviewee’s life similar to or different from other events of the period in which they lived? How did the “big” trends of California history impact your interviewee’s life? How did your interviewee help to shape history? Or were these “big” trends not relevant for your subject?
- What historical factors shaped the choices and decisions that your interviewee made in their life?
- Were the experiences of your subject typical of their times? How do you know this?
- How do the experiences of an individual differ from the experiences of a generation or culture?
- What are the benefits and pitfalls of oral history as a method of historical research?
Requirements
Final Oral History Essay
- A copy of the signed release form (scan or take a photo and upload it).
- Your 5-6 page essay. with content as described above.
- Your essay should cover the content discussed in the “Writing Up the Interview” section of the Oral History Assignment. This includes:
- Your interviewee’s story and a summary of the interview
- The historical context of their story (research is required for this)
- Your assessment of the pros and cons of oral history
- Be sure to read the full assignment!
- Be sure your essay is properly formatted according to the requirements described in the class syllabus.
- Outside sources used to explain context must be either primary or scholarly secondary sources.
- Be sure to document your sources using Chicago-style footnotes, and include a bibliography.
- You do not need to cite your actual interview.
- For the final project, you do not need to turn in your questions and answers – just the essay.
- Reminder: if you write your essay with AI, you will receive a zero on this assignment.