Maine Humanities Council Offers Oral History Workshops
The Haynesville Road is a storied stretch of US Route 2A in Aroostook County. Truckers’ accounts of the hazards of that road led to a 1960’s country music song by Dick Curless (Lyrics by Dan Fulkerson), “A Tombstone Every Mile”. While oral history only rarely leads to a hit single, this story is proof that even the quietest rural places can yield fascinating material that adds depth and understanding to our recent past.
Has your historical society, library or museum considered collecting oral histories or expanding or refining an existing collection? The Maine Humanities Council is pleased to announce a new series of one-day workshops designed to help local groups do this work, and get it right from the start. Oral history can be a vital element in a cultural organization’s activities. It can serve many purposes, from forming the basis for exhibitions, to helping an organization participate in large initiatives such as the Library of Congress Veterans History Project. It can even help to create new audiences for history within a community.
With funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities’ We The People initiative, and responding to high demand for the programs, the Council can offer several more of these workshops in 2008. Historical societies, museums and other community organizations are invited to apply (using a simple, one-page application form) to host a workshop. With the exception of some duplicating, there is no cost, though host organizations must make an effort to "team up" with other organizations in their area. A minimum of two organizations and ten people must be involved in every workshop.
Content:
The workshops, which include extensive handouts and a book display, run about five hours (including a lunch break) and cover the following topics:
- developing visions and practical plans for oral history projects
- the interpersonal dynamics of interviewing
- strategies for asking effective questions, following promising leads, triggering memories
- using recording equipment to preserve the best possible record of the interview
- the legal side: release forms that allow you to use the material — now and in the future without violating the law or the interviewee’s trust
- the crucial steps after interviewing: notes, indexing, transcribing, preserving
- finding volunteer interviewers: potential community and intergenerational collaborations
The Workshop Leader:
Jo Radner, MHC’s workshop leader, is a folklorist, storyteller, writer, and researcher who has done field work and oral history interviewing in western Maine. Past president of the American Folklore Society and a professor at American University, she lives in Lovell, Maine, and is currently writing a book about the history and culture of rural northern New England.
Selection Process:
The Council has funding for several more workshops in the coming year. We hope to cover as many regions of Maine as possible, involve as many organizations as possible, and give preference to organizations that are actively developing oral history programs. For more information, please contact Victoria Bonebakker at the Maine Humanities Council, email or call 773-5051.
Application Form:
Download the application form as a Word document (21K) or as a PDF form (14K).
