Course Catalogue

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This module will expose students to the theory and practice of oral history, including the potential benefits and limitations of using oral sources, particularly life histories, to understand how people make sense of the past. We will begin by evaluating classic texts and articles on oral history theory and methods, particularly as they relate to practitioners' efforts to document people's life histories. The second part of the course will become more practical as students gain experience designing and implementing a mini oral history project, from creating a research design and applying for ethics approval to conducting, transcribing and analysing an interview.

10x1hr lectures; 10x1hr seminars over 10 weeks as scheduled on MyCampus.

This is one of the Honours options in History and may not run every year. The options that are running this session are available on MyCampus.

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Reading responses (2 x 500 words) - 20%

Research design and ethics approval (1000 words) - 20%

Reflective essay (2000 words) - 60% 

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. For non-Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below. 

The course aims to:

■ Introduce students to the history, methodology and genres of the subfield of oral history.

■ Teach students how to collect and analyse oral historical data.

■ Explore the potential of oral history for educating and engaging the public;

■ Develop transferable skills by fostering individual initiative, personal choice, group discussion and, where appropriate, problem-solving teamwork.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ Explain aspects of oral history theory and practice, including its strengths and limitations, and evaluate different genres of writing in oral history.

■ Critically analyse historical and oral historical sources in relation to existing historiography;

■ Acquire first-hand experience in producing source material by conducting an interview and transcribing and analysing the results;

■ Improve skills in oral discussion, analysis and written argument

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components of the course's summative assessment.