Oral History Intensive (Graduate)
Summer '12, four-week intensive, New School University

With the advent of the internet and low-cost digital recorders, Oral History has emerged as a popular documentary practice, with an approach that tips its hat to several fields (from Anthropology to Psychoanalysis). Legs McNeil, George Plimpton, and Anna Deveare Smith have all made use of Oral History, to different ends. This course will cover interview techniques, project design, recording, ethical issues, and legal releases/forms. Students will also meet professionals from the field, who are putting interviews to diverse uses (from public health studies to arts fundraising). We’ll explore the genre’s rich history while working to define and expand its future as a dynamic research method. This workshop is well-suited for those planning to start oral history projects and for those interested in multimedia journalism and/or narrative nonfiction, as well as documentarians of all stripes, who want to learn new approaches to interviewing and storytelling.