For the grade of A

In addition to the two course contacts, the student must take all 5 exams, and make an overall course average of 80% (24 out of 30 questions)

AND

produce one A-Level Objective:  the Oral History Report.  See the Course Schedule for the exam deadlines and the deadline by which you must:

a.) submit the respondent for your oral history report;
b.) submit the outline for your oral history report; and
c.) turn in the completed oral history report.

Remember, in addition to the two course contacts, the student must take all 5 exams, and make an overall course average of 80% (24 out of 30 questions) to be eligible to complete the Book Review for a B OR the Oral History Report for an A.

See your Course Schedule for the dates by which you must:  select a Respondent, turn in a preliminary Outline, and turn in the Recorded Interview  and the Final Draft.

The Purpose

Walt Whitman referred to the United States as not one nation but a “teeming nation of nations.” With rare exception, everyone in America came from somewhere else, or their family did. Most came by choice; many did not. And while Americans love to celebrate Emma Lazarus's words -- “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free” -- new arrivals rarely received a warm welcome. The dynamic and contentious interplay of new peoples engaging those who came before remains one of the mainstays of our history and a process that continues to define our identity as a people. Students will have the opportunity to delve into their own family history as they seek to understand the complex challenges that immigrants over time have faced and still face in the ever changing human landscape that is the United States of America.

Selecting an Oral History Respondent

The oral history Respondent will be chosen in consultation with the instructor.  Respondents can be family members, neighbors, family friends, co-workers, classmates, or someone you have just met.  No, your respondent does NOT have to be an immigrant.  They must, however, have reached 18 years of age by 1965.  That is, they must have been born no later than 1947.  Students MUST confirm their choice with the instructor.

Conducting the Interview

Students will rely on the suggestions contained in the Sample Questions (See below) to direct the conversation with their respondent.  Feel free to range beyond the categories and specific questions listed below, but be sure that you do cover each of the categories that you will need to write about in your final draft.  To ensure that you can accurately depict the words and experiences of your respondent, students must record the interview.  Use a recording device, e.g., tape recorder, answering machine, smart phone, Google Voice, or iPOD.

Sample Questions

A. Biographical Summary

Ask about your interviewee's life.  When and where were they born?  Where and how did they grow up?  Tell me about their family, childhood, hometown, and education.  Did they ever marry?  Have kids?  Tell me about their adult life.  What kind of jobs have they held?  Why?  Spend some time getting to know your respondent. 

Be sensitive to your respondent and do not hesitate to explore their experiences that do not appear in these questions. Remember, do not judge your respondent. Instead, respect their opinion and be sure you explore their views as thoroughly as you can.

B. The Immgrant Experience

Your respondent may be a recent immigrant or come from a family that only recently came to the United States. Or, your respondent may come from a family that has lived for many generations in the United States. Either way is fine! Concentrate on their experiences as an immigrant or their experiences with new arrivals. How did they view life in the US? How did they view newcomers? How did society treat new arrivals? How did they define their identity? How did they keep the old country alive in their new land? Focus on defining moments. What are some of the most memorable moments they recall as an immigrant or encountering immigrants?

Be sensitive to your respondent and do not hesitate to explore their experiences that do not appear in these questions. Remember, do not judge your respondent. Instead, respect their opinion and be sure you explore their views as thoroughly as you can.

C. Attitudes

Here you need to explore your respondent's ideals and values through their personal experiences and opinions.  How did issues of family, ideology, patriotism, anti-Communism, and racism shape their thinking about privacy and their own lives?  Did certain events help define their views on citizenship? Do they have the same feelings now?  How have they changed?  If so, when and why?

Be sensitive to your respondent and do not hesitate to explore their experiences that do not appear in these questions. Remember, do not judge your respondent. Instead, respect their opinion and be sure you explore their views as thoroughly as you can.

D. Legacy

This is the most important part of your interview.  Find out how the immigrant experience shaped your respondent's life.  What were their dreams/hopes/ambitions?  How did the events during their lives change their plans?  How has their view of the America changed of the years?  How has life in American changed? 

Be sensitive to your respondent and do not hesitate to explore their experiences that do not appear in these questions. Remember, do not judge your respondent. Instead, respect their opinion and be sure you explore their views as thoroughly as you can.

Developing the Historical Context

Students are expected to provide appropriate historical context for the events of their respondent's life.  To help the reader understand the time and place of the respondent's life, students will use at least three secondary sources.  Secondary sources are books and articles written at a later time, usually by historians who were not participants in the event.  Students must use scholarly works that investigate an aspect of immigration in the United States that corresponds with the respondent's experiences.  Encyclopedias and general information web sites, e.g., The History Channel, Wikipedia, History.com, etc., are not considered scholarly works and will not be accepted as secondary sources.  You may use your textbook America Past and Present as one of your secondary sources.

Turning in the Recorded Interview

You must turn in the recording either on tape, or submit the recording on a disc/CD or via e-mail as a file that can played on Windows Media Player or through a link to some supporting software or website like Audacity, Google, and so on..  Students and are strongly encouraged to make sure that the instructor can retrieve any and all electronic files prior to any and all deadlines.  It is the students responsibility -- and not the instructors -- to ensure the accurate and timely submission of all course materials.  Do it early!

See your Course Schedule for the dates by which you must:  select a Respondent, turn in a preliminary Outline, and turn in the Recorded Interview  and the Final Draft.
 

Writing the Final Draft

The oral history report must demonstrate the student's ability to write clearly, use good grammar and punctuation, analyze the material in a concise manner, and offer thoughts on the period, themes, and the person in question.  Students completing an oral history will also be asked to give some comparison of what they learned from their oral history subject with the material contained in the secondary sources and in America Past and Present as appropriate.

There are a few important things to consider when you write the oral history.  To begin with you must:

NEVER ASSUME

When you write your findings, DO NOT ASSUME that you can leave out critical information because you know that I am familiar with the time period.
Instead, you must tell me the:

MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION

so that I will clearly understand your interviewee’s life, your analysis of his/her experiences, and your reaction to the interview as a whole.

DO NOT REWRITE THE INTERVIEW

One of your tasks in this assignment is to show that you can digest an entire interview of a person’s life, and then distill it down to its essence.  You simply do not have the space to repeat everything.  So, do not waste time and effort trying to rewrite their life history.

Students are expected to accomplish five tasks in the oral history project:

• briefly summarize the person’s life;
• describe the person’s experiences during the time period in question;
• explore his/her experience in light of course themes;
• compare the information given by the interviewee to the presentation provided in the secondary sources and in America Past and Present; and
• give your reaction to the person and subject(s) of your oral history project.

Remember:  ONLY students who do submit the outline before the deadline listed in the Course Schedule will be permitted to revise their Outline as necessary and to submit an Oral History Report.

A typical review would be organized as follows.

"Title"
By [Your Name] I. Introduction

A. Historical context and purpose

In this paragraph you should briefly tell me what your oral history project is about.  First, summarize the historical context that your subject lived through.  Students will be expected to draw upon the historical literature on the period in question to frame their discussion of the context in which their respondent's life takes place.  Use at least two (2) secondary sources in addition to your textbook to help you describe the historical context.  Then briefly tell me how your person experienced the events and time period in question.  Finally, tell me what you have learned from this person about the war or wars that they lived through.  Remember, this is what this assignment is all about.

A. Biographical Summary

This is where you tell me about your interviewee’s life.  When and where were they born?  Where and how did they grow up?  Tell me about their family, childhood, hometown, and education.  Did they ever marry?  Have kids?  Tell me about their adult life.  What kind of jobs have they held?  Why?  Spend some time getting to know your person and what has made them who they are.  Be sure to give examples.

B. Experiences

Now you need to tell me how the war or wars that they lived through affected their lives.  Tell me about their experiences.  Where did they live during the war(s)?  Did they serve in the Armed Services?  War Industry?  Did any family member so serve?  How did the war change their lives?  Their friends, neighbors, and family?  How did the war shape their view of life, family, and the future?  Be sure to give examples.

C. Themes

Here you should rely on the course readings and lectures to explore your interviewee’s personal experiences and opinions with important course themes.  How did issues of ideology, patriotism, and racism shape their thinking and their lives?  Do they have the same feelings now?  How have they changed?  Remember, these are very personal issues.  Let your interviewee tell you their thoughts.  DO NOT JUDGE THEM.  The purpose here is to gather a slice of life.  They lived through very different times.  Learn about those times through their experiences.  Be sure to give examples.

D. Comparison

This is where you compare your respondent's experiences with what the authors of America Past and Present and at least three other secondary sources had to say on the subject of your oral history project.  Did your interviewee support or contradict what you read in your textbook?  What did you learn that was new?  Give some examples from your interview and the text.  Demonstrate your points by quoting from your oral history subject and the text.  Be sure to give examples.

E. Reaction

This is the most important part of your oral history project.  In this section, you must describe your reaction to the subject of your oral history project.  What did you learn from this person?  Do you agree or disagree with your interviewee’s conclusions?  Did you detect any biases that might explain their views?  How did their account differ from the textbook and lecture?  How has your understanding of the period and themes changed?  Be sure to give examples.

In this paragraph you must summarize your oral history project.  Briefly reintroduce the subject and the historical context.  Then, summarize your person’s experiences.  How did issues of ideology, patriotism, and racism shape their lives?  Tell me how their experiences compared with the version found in lectures and the textbook.  Finally, you should conclude by answering the following question:  how did this oral history project help you to better understand life in America's past?

Each paragraph should be at least thirteen (13), but NOT more than twenty (20), lines long -- NOT sentences, but lines on the page.  Each paragraph is a mini-paper.  Make the first sentence of each paragraph an introduction to that paragraph.  Tell your reader what to expect in the paragraph.  This is called the topic sentence.  Summarize your point at the end of the paragraph, like the conclusion of a paper.  In between, give lots of evidence to prove your point.

Make your sentences active.  Fill your review with verbs that move the reader along from point to point.  Writing that relies on the verb "to be" -- is, was, are, etc. -- quickly becomes repetitious and will NOT convince your reader.  I do not expect you to eliminate the verb "to be" entirely, but come very close.

Quotes help spice up a paper by giving the reader the flavor of the interview.  So, include quotations where appropriate to illustrate your points.  Using quotes helps to establish your understanding of the key themes, events, person, etc., in your interview.  Hence, the use of quotes constitutes a substantial portion of your oral history report.

Format Requirements

ALL ASSIGNMENTS -- OUTLINE AND FINAL DRAFT -- MUST CONFORM TO THE FORMAT SPECIFICATIONS BELOW.  ANY OUTLINE OR FINAL DRAFT THAT DOES NOT CONFORM TO THE FORMAT SPECIFICATIONS BELOW WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

The format requirements for the completed Outline and Final Draft are:

• Staple -- upper left corner;
• Page numbers -- top right;
• Title -- Top, center, page 1;
• Name -- Center; below title with appropriate spacing (see below);
• Text -- Begins right below the name on page 1, with appropriate spacing (see below):
• Spacing -- TRIPLE spaced, typed or from a printer;
• Margins -- one (1) inch from the edge of the page on the:  top, left, right, and bottom;
• Pitch -- 12;
• Font --  Times Roman preferred;
• Length -- 7 pp;  [There is no length requirement for the Outline the Final Draft must be 7 pp.]
• End notes -- place at the end of your document;  [Not counted in the length.  See Documentation below.]
• Bibliography -- on a separate page.  [Not counted in the length.  See Documentation below.]

Please:

DO NOT BOLDFACE; or
DO NOT ITALICIZE; or
DO    NOT         JUSTIFY

your text.

The above particulars are designed to ensure that all students complete works of similar length.

Please:

Do NOT use folders or other such binders; and
You do NOT need a cover sheet.

Documentation

ALL ASSIGNMENTS -- OUTLINE AND FINAL DRAFT -- MUST CONFORM TO THE DOCUMENTATION SPECIFICATIONS BELOW.  ANY OUTLINE OR FINAL DRAFT THAT DOES NOT CONFORM TO THE DOCUMENTATION SPECIFICATIONS BELOW WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

The documentation requirements for the completed Outline and Final Draft are:

• endnotes; and
• bibliography

To ensure that you give credit where credit is due, please refer to the source from which you extracted information.  Please use end notes to document your sources using the appropriate formatting (see above).  For the correct style, see the ACC Library has a link to Turabian. Here is another Turabian link that shows how to cite an interview. And this Turabian link whill show you how to do court cases and other documents. You can also see John Grossman, ed., The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005). You can also use an abbreviated version by Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 6th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996). Both guides can be found at the ACC Library.  Include a Bibliography on a separate page (with no page number), at the end of your your Outline, and Final Draft. .  Here you provide a complete citation for each work cited.  Please use the appropriate formatting (see above).  And, please, do NOT ask if you can use MLA.  Use the Chicago Manual of Style or Turabian.

Grading Policy

The Outline will be graded "ACCEPTED" or "NOT ACCEPTED."  Recognize that an Outline rife with misspellings and grammatical errors will NOT be considered acceptable.  Any Outline that does NOT conform to the format specifications above will NOT be accepted.  If you submit your Outline before the deadline date in the Course Schedule and it is graded "NOT ACCEPTED" you may revise it and resubmit it prior to the deadline date.  Any Outline submitted after the deadline listed in the Course Schedule will NOT be accepted.

• If the Outline receives a final grade of "NOT ACCEPTED" then the student will NOT be permitted to submit the Final Draft.

• If the Recorded Interview is NOT submitted with the Final Draft will receive a final grade of "NOT ACCEPTED."

Deadlines

ALL ASSIGNMENTS ARE DUE NO LATER THAN 5:00 PM ON THE DEADLINE LISTED IN THE COURSE SCHEDULE;

and

STUDENTS WHO DO NOT SELECT A RESPONDENT BY THE DEADLINE LISTED IN THE COURSE SCHEDULE WILL NOT BE PERMITTED TO SUBMIT A FINAL DRAFT;

and

STUDENTS WHO DO NOT TURN IN AN OUTLINE BY THE DEADLINE LISTED IN THE COURSE SCHEDULEWILL NOT BE PERMITTED TO SUBMIT A FINAL DRAFT;

and

STUDENTS WHO DO NOT SUBMIT A RECORDING OF THEIR INTERVIEW WITH THE FINAL DRAFT WILL RECEIVE A GRADE OF "NOT ACCEPTED";

and

ANY FINAL DRAFT THAT IS NOT SUBMITTED BY 5:00 PM ON THE DEADLINE LISTED IN THE COURSE SCHEDULE WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

Students may submit the Respondent choice, the Outline, the Recorded Interview, and the Final Draft via e-mail as a Word attachment or by turning in a hard copy to my box at ACC Rio Grande by 5:00 pm on the deadline listed in the Course Schedule.

See your Course Schedule for the dates by which you must:  select a Respondent, turn in a preliminary Outline, and turn in the Recorded Interview, and submit the Final Draft.

© David Marcus Lauderback, 2012 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED