Creating Oral Histories

Oral histories are recorded interviews that capture individuals’ personal recollections about their lives, experiences, and/or events they have been a part of or observed. The term “oral histories” applies to both the process of conducting interviews and the product of those interviews.

Oral histories can present unique, personal insights and often give voice to people not otherwise represented in the historical record. They are by their very nature subjective and impacted by the limits of human memory, however, when used with other primary and secondary sources, they can help provide a fuller historical understanding.