HIS8123 : Oral History and Public History
- Offered for Year: 2024/25
- Module Leader(s): Dr Sarah Campbell
- Lecturer: Professor Graham Smith
- Owning School: History, Classics and Archaeology
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
| Semester 2 Credit Value: | 20 |
| ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
| European Credit Transfer System | |
Aims
The course aims to introduce students to the theory and practice of oral history in the wider context of public history. It will aim to provide students with the skills necessary to conduct, record and edit an audio oral history interview to current broadcast and archive standards.
Outline Of Syllabus
Building on Newcastle University’s research strength through the Oral History Collective, this module will introduce students to the theory and ethics of oral history and its use in public history. Students will gain an understanding of a range of current theories within oral history, including:
• ‘experience’, ‘collective memory’ and ‘social remembering’
• the relationship between individual narratives, group narratives and public memory
• historical consciousness and public history
• ageing and historical justice
Two-hour sessions weekly delivered: a mix of seminars, practical workshops and drop-in sessions.
Students will be introduced to basic audio recording and editing techniques, as well as the ethical and legal considerations of conducting and (re)using oral history interviews for public audiences.
Students will present short introductory sessions around the seminar topics and receive feedback. They will each conduct a life history interview, which will be collectively evaluated and discussed in one of the seminars.
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 40:00 | 40:00 | preparation for assignment 2 |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 38:00 | 38:00 | Preparation for assessment 1 |
| Guided Independent Study | Directed research and reading | 10 | 10:00 | 100:00 | structured weekly reading and preparation |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 1 | 3:00 | 3:00 | seminars on themes and historiography of module |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 2 | 1:30 | 3:00 | seminars on themes and historiography of module |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 1 | 1:00 | 1:00 | Introduction |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 1 | 1:00 | 1:00 | seminars on themes and historiography of module |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Workshops | 1 | 3:00 | 3:00 | workshops on the assessment |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Workshops | 1 | 3:00 | 3:00 | Oral History Skills Workshop |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Workshops | 2 | 1:30 | 3:00 | Oral History Skills Workshop |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Workshops | 2 | 2:00 | 4:00 | Oral history skills workshops |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Drop-in/surgery | 1 | 1:00 | 1:00 | drop-in for assessment |
| Total | 200:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
Seminars will introduce students to case studies. This includes how the theories of oral history might be applied to public history, and examples of how oral history interviews have been used in public history settings and products.
Small group teaching will allow students to develop their skills in group work and collaboration. Skills workshops will scaffold students learning of specific skills (see above) to successfully complete assigned tasks.
Practical working, the interview, metadata construction, and audio presentation will enable students to practice and refine skills. The outputs will also provide students with evidence of their competence in applying knowledge and skills.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 2 | A | 50 | Essay 2500 words |
| Portfolio | 2 | M | 50 | Treatment of interview and pitch on how to use in public history setting. Up to 2500 words |
Formative Assessments
Formative Assessment is an assessment which develops your skills in being assessed, allows for you to receive feedback, and prepares you for being assessed. However, it does not count to your final mark.
| Description | Semester | When Set | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Written exercise | 2 | M | 500-word (max) plan for final essay |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
It will test students' ability to conduct independent research, relate primary source documents to broader problem, design a research question, ability to formulate an interpretation of evidence in response to a question, and academic writing skills.
Practical working, the interview, metadata construction, and audio presentation will enable students to practice and refine skills. The outputs will also provide students with evidence of their competence in applying knowledge and skills.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- HIS8123's Timetable