Doing Oral History

by Donald A. Ritchie

Doing Oral History is considered the premier guidebook to oral history, used by professional oral historians, public historians, archivists, and genealogists as a core text in college courses and throughout the public history community. Over the past decades, the development of digital audio and video recording technology has continued to alter the practice of oral history, making it even easier to produce quality recordings and to disseminate them on the Internet. This basic manual offers detailed advice on setting up an oral history project, conducting interviews, making video recordings, preserving oral history collections in archives and libraries, and teaching and presenting oral history.
Using the existing Q&A format, the third edition asks new questions and augments previous answers with new material, particularly in these areas:
1. Technology: As before, the book avoids recommending specific equipment, but weighs the merits of the types of technology available for audio and video recording, transcription, preservation, and dissemination. Information about web sites is expanded, and more discussion is provided about how other oral history projects have posted their interviews online.
2. Teaching: The new edition addresses the use of oral history in online teaching. It also expands the discussion of Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) with the latest information about compliance issues.
3. Presentation: Once interviews have been conducted, there are many opportunities for creative presentation. There is much new material available on innovative forms of presentation developed over the last decade, including interpretive dance and other public performances.
4. Legal considerations: The recent Boston College case, in which the courts have ruled that Irish police should have access to sealed oral history transcripts, has re-focused attention on the problems of protecting donor restrictions. The new edition offers case studies from the past decade.
5. Theory and Memory: As a beginner's manual, Doing Oral History has not dealt extensively with theoretical issues, on the grounds that these emerge best from practice. But the third edition includes the latest thinking about memory and provides a sample of some of the theoretical issues surrounding oral sources. It will include examples of increased studies into catastrophe and trauma, and the special considerations these have generated for interviewers.
6. Internationalism: Perhaps the biggest development in the past decade has been the spreading of oral history around the world, facilitated in part by the International Oral History Association. New oral history projects have developed in areas that have undergone social and political upheavals, where the traditional archives reflect the old regimes, particularly in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The third edition includes many more references to non-U.S. projects that will still be relevant to an American audience.
These changes make the third edition of Doing Oral History an even more useful tool for beginners, teachers, archivists, and all those oral history managers who have inherited older collections that must be converted to the latest technology.

Genres: History, Oral History, Nonfiction, Grad School, Library Science, Textbooks, Education

368 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 1994

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great guide to all aspects of conducting an oral history program, presented in a "frequently asked questions" format. Chapters include initiating a project, conducting interviews, using oral history as a research tool, archiving oral histories and incorporating video. There are a few topics in which I'd like to see a little more detail, but Ritchie does include information on other resources where that detail may be available.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, which I read for my graduate course on Oral History, is an exhaustive resource for beginning oral historians. Ritchie runs through a wide variety of topics relating to oral history, from basic information on how to conduct interviews to details on the ways in which oral history has been used in museum exhibits and the related drawbacks and advantages. It is not an exciting book, but it is an incredibly useful one. However, for an updated version of this text, it does still seem a little focused on mini discs. I have nothing against the technology, but by 2003, when this edition was published, the format was well on its way out.

[Tara Brabazon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doing Oral History is a useful, solid and applicable guide. This second edition, published in 2003, has woven the web into the discussion. That means the 'tape recorder' has gone, but the capacity of MP3s and the ease of editing, storage and dissemination are not fully revealed.

However this is a great guide through the strengths, weaknesses and methodological challenges of oral history. Chapter Seven - Teaching Oral History - is particularly noteworthy. There is attention to all levels of education, including using oral history in undergraduate university courses.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

A primer on the methodology of oral history, “Doing Oral History” should be a handbook for anyone interested in recording perspectives of those in their communities in addition to formal scholarship. Formatted as Q&A, this book can be read either cover to cover or as a refresh on various topics. Due to the rapid changes in technological advances, this edition (2015) is already reaching the end of its life and is in need of a refresh regarding the use of updated technologies.

[Valerie Brett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very useful book. It's handily arranged, and ample subheadings make it an easy reference book that I'm sure I'll turn back to. I appreciated the mix of practical information, theory, and examples. I do wish that he had included more precise tips of how to get other people to use your oral histories once they're complete. He went over how they could be used, but not much in terms of bridging the gap between oral historians and other content producers/community organizers/media/institutions.

[Magen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of course, this edition is a bit outdated, but it otherwise contains pertinent information that all oral historians need to get started. The first half of the book on technique and methodology still stands up regardless of how outdated this is, but at about the halfway point I find the book rather unnecessary, long-winded, and subjective to the author's priorities. Still the appendices are useful, and I highly recommend this book to my volunteers coming onto the project I manage.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, I read this for a class, but as a new-to-interviewing student in a graduate class of seasoned pros, this book was incredibly helpful! It's genuinely interesting, although I would have definitely read bits and pieces here and there if I wasn't working by due dates.

Happy reading!
~Katie

[Cody · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not a book for the general reader but for anyone interested in taking part in an oral history project, this book does what it sets out to do. Its a quality guide that talks about how to set up a project, how to conduct interviews, philosophical questions on ethics and methods, how to do a school or college oral history project, and how to archive or present the final outcome.

[Yunis · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is presented in question and answer format stimulated in oral history way. The question presented are good and stimulate both a thought before reading the question and the way answer giving. I Cannot lie if I some questions that I did not find helpful

[Serge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Going to use this book to teach my Immigrants in American History students to conduct oral history interviews.

[Jack · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have done a couple of ‘oral history’ interviews and thought this book would give me more insight or some suggestions of how to do - or to do better - interviews.

The Cover said “Doing Oral History - A Practical Guide - Using interviews to uncover the past and preserve it for the future”.

I made a mistake.

Out of the 318 pages, I estimate there were about 10-11 pages that I found useful in the entire book.

That doesn’t mean the book is worthless. It is more of a history of oral history and directed toward those who will be working on large size projects; projects for universities, business organizations, the government.

Me? I just wanted more info on doing one person - family type oral history.

I also should have noted the fact that it was written 12 years ago - much of the material is dated.

[Timothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Practical and thoughtful. Good stuff.

[Starbubbles · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a great guide for learning how to do oral history.

[Marc · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great resource, especially for those (like myself) who have no prior experience with oral history.

[Timothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

An introduction to the practice and use of oral history

[Lboogiepeace · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the core text for oral historians. A classic.