Writing Project 2

An Oral History

This writing project is due Tuesday, March 18.

Writing Project 2 is designed to be a fun way to explore music with a family member, friend, or foe for that matter. In this writing project you will be conducting an oral history, and then analyzing your experience doing an oral history.

Oral history is a unique way to "do" history from the bottom-up. Most times we get history from text books made by large corporations that glorify old, rich white men, and forsake most of the population that has made this country great--the working-class, women, and minorities. This practice distracts us from hearing the voices of most Americans. Oral history provides the opportunity to get or do history from a personal, organic source.

Take a look at this link for more information about "doing" oral history: http://dohistory.org/on_your_own/toolkit/oralHistory.html

This page, which has audio and text files of oral history interviews, demonstrates what types of subjects and topics can be covered in oral history interviews. It also features locally important historical actors: http://www.finlandia.edu/finnamericanoralhistories/index.html

For this writing project there are three steps:

1) Identify and interview a family member or friend about their interests in music. Read the dohistory.org page above, follow the steps to do an oral history, and conduct a thorough oral history interview that collects data and information on what types of music your friend or relative was into, significant concerts that they attended, and if they were perhaps in a band.

If at all possible interview someone who was alive and "into" the grunge music scene, but other genres are also welcome for this oral history interview. 

2) Make sure that you capture this oral history on a digital voice recorder, a tape recorder, or take very good notes if you don't have access to some type of voice recording mechanism.

3) Write up your oral history interview in two parts. Firstly, transcribe relevant parts of your oral history interview. Meaning, take segments of your oral history interview and write them out. Perhaps there is a really funny story, a meaningful experience, or groundbreaking concert that was attended by your oral history interviewee...highlight this by writing it out word for word, and include the question or questions you asked in this transcription. This transcription should account for the first page of your writing project.

Secondly, write out an analysis of your oral history experience. Make this a thoughtful reflection on the process: what did you learn, how did you go about doing oral history, and/or was this a meaningful experience? This analysis should cover the second page of your writing project.

Be sure to include citations for sources used (hint: the person you interview is a source), and make sure to include a works cited page for your writing project.

Standard writing project specs apply to this, the final writing project!

Lastly, have fun, get to know the musical interests of your family or friends, and try to end up making this a discussion about something that most people find an essential part of what makes us human: the music of life.