Final Project Overview

Purpose

During this semester we have learned a great deal of American history, much of it directly witnessed by individuals still alive today. An American who is 100 years old or older (and as of 2024, there are at least 100,000) will actually remember the 1920s as children and remember the Great Depression and much history from that time period forward. We can learn much about history, as it was lived out by various individuals and groups, by speaking to elders and hearing, not just general facts, but their own, particular lived experiences of events and change. Learning about the past from people who are still alive is called Oral History, a sub-field within the history discipline. Our final task will involve an oral history undertaking with an elder of your choice, or two if desired. Their memories will cover many decades and bring history more to life. Everyone is free to choose a family member or other elder who is Gen X or older, born 1975 or earlier. Your interviewee must have been born in the United States or immigrated as a small child. If you do not have a willing or available family member, consider a neighbor, co-worker, an amenable teacher or professor, or you can even reach out to an elder living community or center.Do complete the Generations assignment and unit reading first, so that you get a solid sense of the elder generations, what they experienced in life, and what distinguishes their cohort from others. That work and background knowledge will help you formulate initial questions, follow up questions, and generally help you relate to them or follow their recollections.

Task

There are two parts to this assignment:

1. After securing a narrator, you will begin by deciding upon a list of questions you plan to ask (minimum of five questions), though be prepared for other content and storylines to appear in your conversations organically. You just need a plan, a way to begin an interview. The kinds of questions you plan in advance to ask will likely depend on the narrators age/generation. Will someone remember silent films, the Depression, life in the 50s, the Korean or Vietnam wars, the 1969 moon landings, growing up in the 70s, 9-11? You also need to share the name, age or generation, and picture of the person you interview, and the picture should be of you and the person together. If you must speak to them via Zoom or Facetime, use your phone or a second phone to snap a picture.
2. Share what you learned from them about their lives and history in an informal paper that is 1000 words minimum, not counting the questions themselves. Include an opening paragraph at the beginning that introduces your narrator generally and also add a conclusion at the end in which you include your own personal thoughts on the experience, like what you found most interesting or surprising, what you wished could have heard more about, any feelings brought up, or other aspects of personal reflection. You can include direct quotes if you record the interview session, and that is encouraged. If you record audio or a video, you have a record of the interview to keep and to which you can refer for the written portion of this assignment, or even if cheating/plagiarism/AI is suspected. It might be a wonderful record to keep forever, if you interview a family member or other person close to you. At the interview, minimally have paper and a pen/pencil to take notes, and you might need to ask them how to spell a name or to repeat something unclear. Again, be sure that content connects back to topics we have learned in history, whether thats the Great Depression, Vietnam, 9-11, or whatsoever happens to come up.

Helpful Advice

Questions can be open-ended to begin, like tell me about your parents and childhood? or how you were raised? or what was it like to be a kid of your generation, or what are your earliest memories in life?) That can get the conversation going and give you important back story. You might ask them about memories of specific events that took place no later than the year 2004. Be sure some answers include general historical context of the time that connects their personal lives to bigger trends and events in history, lest all you get is very personal stories completely disconnected from our studies. If your narrator seems to linger only on personal or family stories unrelated to history, you will need to redirect them or follow up with additional questions that focus on specific events or eras. Do encourage everything they have to say, though, as time permits. Peoples ability to just openly reminisce and even ramble not only respects their time and lived experiences, but also can lead to important recollections and facts you would not have thought to inquire after. Respect them if they emotionally cannot discuss a matter, like combat veterans or others who experienced trauma. Also listen respectfully but intelligently with at least a little bit of skepticism. Could they be romanticizing the past and making it seem better than it was? Are their memories clouded with pain? Do they have an agenda in what they share? Are they remembering accurately? Are they editing history (what they say) to please you, upset you, spare you difficult truths, or move you in any way? Just keep in mind a persons memories are not the same thing as reading a college textbook, as we peek back at history through the subjective lens of one individual (or two). Nonetheless, the past exists in all of our minds as memories, whether clear or obscured, whether honest or slanted, and always tinted with personal feelings and opinions. Still, that alone is valuable for learning and reflection in a U.S. history course.If for any reason you have no family or friends easily accessible or available who are Gen X or older, reach out to your instructor for help. Again, you might speak to a neighbor, co-worker, someone at a nearby senior citizen center or living facility (they would love that, incidentally) or maybe even one of your professors or someone in administration at your school who might be willing to be interviewed. ——–his assignment aligns with Learning Outcomes 2, 3, and 6.Before starting this assignment, be sure to read the which contains helpful information that will assist you in completing the project and submit your Final Project Part 1. We can learn much about history, as it was lived out by various individuals and groups, by speaking to elders and hearing, not just general facts, but their own, particular lived experiences of events and change. Learning about the past from people who are still alive is called Oral History, a sub-field within the history discipline. Our final task will involve an oral history undertaking with an elder of your choice, or two if desired. Their memories will cover many decades and bring history more to life. Everyone is free to choose a family member or other elder who is Gen X or older, born 1975 or earlier. Your interviewee must have been born in the United States or immigrated as a small child. If you do not have a willing or available family member, consider a neighbor, co-worker, an amenable teacher or professor, or you can even reach out to an elder living community or center.

Task

• After securing a interviewee, you will first need to record a brief video that shows you and your narrator together whether in person or virtually. In this video it must be stated (by you and/or the narrator) that the purpose of the video is to document the interview itself as minimal proof that the oral history interview is taking/has taken place. Do not stress about the content/video, as the goal is simply to capture you and your narrator(s), so it can be brief, but feel free to say anything you like or to even have fun with it. Omission of the video, however, means Part 2 cannot be accepted.
• Begin by asking your narrator the list of questions you submitted in Part 1 (minimum of five questions), though be prepared for other content and storylines to appear in your conversations organically. You just need a plan, a way to begin an interview. The kinds of questions you plan in advance to ask will likely depend on the narrators age/generation. Will someone remember silent films, the Depression, life in the 50s, the Korean or Vietnam wars, the 1969 moon landings, growing up in the 70s, 9-11? You also need to share the name, age or generation, and picture of the person you interview, and the picture should be of you and the person together.
• Share what you learned from them about their lives and history.
  • You can do this by writing an informal paper that is 1000 words minimum, not counting the questions themselves. Include an opening paragraph at the beginning that introduces your narrator generally and also add a conclusion at the end in which you include your own personal thoughts on the experience, like what you found most interesting or surprising, what you wished could have heard more about, any feelings brought up, or other aspects of personal reflection. You can include direct quotes if you record the interview session, and that is encouraged. If you record audio or a video, you have a record of the interview to keep and to which you can refer for the written portion of this assignment. It might be a wonderful record to keep forever, if you interview a family member or other person close to you. At the interview, minimally have paper and a pen/pencil to take notes, and you might need to ask them how to spell a name or to repeat something unclear. Again, be sure that content connects back to topics we have learned in history, whether thats the Great Depression, Vietnam, 9-11, or whatsoever happens to come up.
  • Alternatively, you may choose to create a PowerPoint presentation instead of an essay that includes pictures of your narrator(s) or related images from history they experienced. If you choose the Powerpoint option, the word count minimum must still reach 800 words and there must be an image for every slide. Font size must not be overly small or difficult to read, as that would constitute a major design flaw. Direct quotes from your narrator(s) may not account for more than 20% of total paper or presentation.

Grading Criteria

• Short video clip showing you and your narrator. You and/or your narrator must state the purpose of the interview.
• Essay or PowerPoint presentation sharing about your narrators life, what you learned in your oral history experience. Focus your content as much as possible on your persons memories of and connection to historical events and time periods. You should include your own thoughts only at the very end in a conclusion, leaving the body of the paper or majority of the PowerPoint dedicated to your narrators memories.
• The five questions submitted in Part 1 must be covered along with the narrators name, age or generation. (If someone is reluctant to share their exact age, they can certainly share their generation.)
• Points will be deducted if word count minimum is not met with content that relates to your narrator and to their experience as a member of their generation and history they have experienced. Extraneous stories, like about ones dog or a favorite joke, disconnected from history, might be interesting and may be included, but such content (unrelated to ones core experience as a member of a generation and/or unrelated to events in history) do not count toward 800 word minimum for a Powerpoint or 1000 word minimum on a reflective report. Therefore, minimize your personal reflections, feelings, opinions, or the narrators side stories or else plan to increase your overall word count if you wish to include non-historical content from either yourself or your interviewee. Any plagiarism or abuse of AI will earn a zero score.