Aims

Memories are living history and over the past seventy years, oral history has transformed the practice of contemporary history in many countries. This module will provide an overview of the historical development of oral history as a research method for historians, develop students’ awareness of memory as a historical source and explore the changing uses of both since the 1950s. Through the use of a theme each year, students will examine the possibilities of using oral history as a way of understanding the past; develop an awareness of the ethical and practical issues involved and develop skills required to research, design, manage and undertake oral history interviews either in person or remotely.

There is a practical oral history project component to this module. You will work as part of a group on a topic related to a theme in contemporary history (there will be a theme each year) and conduct an oral history interview. This element of the module will provide you with experience in interviewing, transcribing, and analysis of oral histories, as well as exploring how they could be used in public histories.

The aims of this module are:
-       To introduce students to the benefits and ethical challenges of using oral history as a methodology;
-       To help students to understand the challenges of combining theory and practice through the first-hand experience of interviewing;
-       To introduce students to recent historical research and to guide them in the analysis of theories and texts;
-       To give students the opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge of recent history;
-       To give students an awareness of recording technologies and transcription;
-       To guide students in planning and accomplishing a successful oral history project.

Outline Of Syllabus

The following is a guide only. Actual subjects may differ from those listed.

Topics may include:
What is oral history? (and how has it developed?)
The ethics of oral history      
Understanding historical memory
Doing oral history: designing and planning
Conducting a successful interview: Recording and transcribing
After the interview: analysing and interpretation
Using oral history in public
Reflecting on oral histories

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Lectures impart core knowledge and provide an outline for further knowledge acquisition by the students themselves.Lectures allow students to develop skills in comprehension and note-taking. They explain key historical concepts and identify historical debates and points of contention. They introduce a range of oral testimonies appropriate to the module. Lectures also facilitate the critical appreciation of such sources.

Workshops explore oral history skills, ethics and working with recording equipment. It will be workshop style of working in groups and practising skills.

Fieldwork allows students to engage reflectively with the practice of oral history and interviewing.

Group activity and project work allows for students in a peer context to articulate and consolidate their understanding of the theme of the module and the practice of oral history.


Seminars allow students to discuss and assimilate understanding of oral history, memory and the specified theme of British history.

Drop-in surgery will allow students explore and test their knowledge of oral history and social memory prior to assessment.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The project work and its presentation are specifically designed to encourage the students to develop and to test, skills that will be invaluable in collaborative oral history projects and disseminating their results.

The essay tests intended knowledge and skills outcomes and develops key skills in research, reading and writing in relation to oral history, social memory and the specified theme of British history. Work submitted during the delivery of the module forms a means of determining student progress.

The formative assessment will be practical and will include practising interview skills with peers, doing mock interviews, etc.

Study-abroad, non-Erasmus exchange and Loyola students spending semester 1 only are required to finish their assessment while in Newcastle. Where an exam is present, an alternative form of assessment will be set and where coursework is present, an alternative deadline will be set. Details of the alternative assessment will be provided by the module leader.