Events

Oral History Australia SA/NT  will hold its first workshop for 2024 on Friday 16 February from 10 am to 3:30pm at the State Library of South Australia.

The workshop ‘How to do an oral history interview’ introduces participants to the practice and methods of doing an oral history interview. It also covers features to look for in professional digital audio recorders, and why they are important.

To find out more and make a booking go to:

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/february-workshop-how-to-do-an-oral-history-interview-tickets-803805352447

Saturday 16 March 2024, 9.30am-4.00pm, online via Zoom

Taught by Sarah Rood and Alistair Thomson (see trainer profiles here)

Interviews on topics such as war, natural disaster, illness or violence are likely to be challenging for the interviewee and the interviewer. But any oral history interview can trigger difficult and painful remembering and will require an appropriate response and appropriate preparation in the first place. This OHV online Advanced Workshop by two of Australia’s most experienced oral history trainers will consider: the personal and ethical responsibilities of the oral historian; the range of ways in which interviews might generate difficult or painful remembering; minimising risk in project planning and communication; issues and approaches for interviewing on sensitive subjects and responding to difficult remembering; the safety of the interviewee and interviewer; and responsibilities and options after the interview.

Participants in this advanced workshop must have interview experience or have participated in an OHV Oral History Beginners workshop. You will be encouraged to bring relevant examples from your own oral history practice for discussion. In 2023 this course was full booked with a long waiting list, so don’t delay your registration.

For details of course fees and to register, visit our Humanitix listing here.

Please note that tickets are first made available to OHV members, with non-members able to register a week later (from the 14th February).

Saturday 23 March, In-person at North Melbourne Library (Hotham Room)

Trainers: Miranda Francis & Nicolette Snowden

Further details and registration for this OHV Beginner course here.

Have you always wanted to learn how to create an oral history interview? Or do you have an interest in recording the memories of elders in your family or community? Maybe you’re wondering whether or not to record remotely, or you’re thinking about conducting face-to-face interviews.

This popular Oral History Victoria two-day online training workshop is for anyone who would like to learn how to prepare, conduct, record and document an oral history interview. Facilitated by two of Australia’s most experienced oral history trainers, and using Zoom technology, you will learn and practice essential interview techniques and discuss important ethical issues.

After the first Saturday sessions, you will conduct your own oral history interview (remote recording or face-to-face), which will be a learning resource in the second Saturday sessions. The workshop will be limited to 16 participants to enable lively discussion and practical work in an online format. Participants will need a computer with wifi connection – the Zoom link will be provided, along with Zoom instructions.

Feedback from participants on this course 2020-2022

‘The skills I learnt and the discussions that took place were invaluable’

‘I liked it that our activities really tested our comfort zones. It was just terrific.’

‘Al and Sarah are wonderful educators and facilitators!

‘A wonderful learning experience. I’ve definitely fallen in love with oral history too!’

‘I loved the course – learned so much on so many different levels, far more than I would have expected in 8 hours. Well done on awesome Zoom teaching.’

‘Thanks so much for providing us with such a great course. I have already promoted future courses to my friends.’

Tickets

To purchase your ticket, visit our Humanitix listing…

Click Here to Purchase Tickets

Please note, tickets are made available to OHV members first, before being made more widely available from the 2nd of September 2024.

Trainer profiles

Sarah Rood is a professional consulting historian who has been working in the field for the past 20 years. She has seen the uses and applications of oral history change drastically. Motivated by a desire to help communicate the past and to help connect individuals and communities with history and identity Sarah has recorded countless oral history interviews. Firmly believing that everyone has a story to tell, Sarah aims to work with people to record their stories in a way that both documents their experiences and ensures that (with permission) it can be accessed by others in the future. Exploring the relationship between new technologies and oral histories has become a particular area of interest for Sarah in recent years. Similarly, the interplay between the tangible and the intangible and how this plays out in oral history is a constant source of intrigue for Sarah.

Alistair Thomson, national award-winning teacher and now Emeritus Professor of History at Monash University, taught his first oral history workshop in 1985 at the Wangaratta Centre for Continuing Education and has been teaching oral history in both community and academic settings ever since. Al is currently President of Oral History Australia. His oral history books include: Anzac Memories: Living with the Legend (1994), The Oral History Reader (2016), Ten Pound Poms: Australia’s Invisible Migrants (2005), Moving Stories: an intimate history of four women across two countries (2011), Oral History and Photography (2011), and Australian Lives: An Intimate History (2017). Al is currently leading a research project about the history of fathering in Australia and co-editing The Bloomsbury Oral History Handbook. Contact: Alistair.Thomson@monash.edu

Training program format

Timing: the workshop takes place over two consecutive Saturdays.

On each workshop day the session will go from 9.30am – 4 pm with a lunch break from 12 – 1.15 pm.

Have you always wanted to learn how to create an oral history interview? Or do you have an interest in recording the memories of elders in your family or community? Maybe you’re wondering whether or not to record remotely, or you’re thinking about conducting face-to-face interviews.

This popular Oral History Victoria two-day online training workshop is for anyone who would like to learn how to prepare, conduct, record and document an oral history interview. Facilitated by two of Australia’s most experienced oral history trainers, and using Zoom technology, you will learn and practice essential interview techniques and discuss important ethical issues.

After the first Saturday sessions, you will conduct your own oral history interview (remote recording or face-to-face), which will be a learning resource in the second Saturday sessions. The workshop will be limited to 16 participants to enable lively discussion and practical work in an online format. Participants will need a computer with wifi connection – the Zoom link will be provided, along with Zoom instructions.

Feedback from participants on this course 2020-2022

‘The skills I learnt and the discussions that took place were invaluable’

‘I liked it that our activities really tested our comfort zones. It was just terrific.’

‘Al and Sarah are wonderful educators and facilitators!

‘A wonderful learning experience. I’ve definitely fallen in love with oral history too!’

‘I loved the course – learned so much on so many different levels, far more than I would have expected in 8 hours. Well done on awesome Zoom teaching.’

‘Thanks so much for providing us with such a great course. I have already promoted future courses to my friends.’

Tickets

To purchase your ticket, visit our Humanitix listing…

Click Here to Purchase Tickets

Please note, tickets are made available to OHV members first, before being made more widely available from the 2nd of September 2024.

Trainer profiles

Sarah Rood is a professional consulting historian who has been working in the field for the past 20 years. She has seen the uses and applications of oral history change drastically. Motivated by a desire to help communicate the past and to help connect individuals and communities with history and identity Sarah has recorded countless oral history interviews. Firmly believing that everyone has a story to tell, Sarah aims to work with people to record their stories in a way that both documents their experiences and ensures that (with permission) it can be accessed by others in the future. Exploring the relationship between new technologies and oral histories has become a particular area of interest for Sarah in recent years. Similarly, the interplay between the tangible and the intangible and how this plays out in oral history is a constant source of intrigue for Sarah.

Alistair Thomson, national award-winning teacher and now Emeritus Professor of History at Monash University, taught his first oral history workshop in 1985 at the Wangaratta Centre for Continuing Education and has been teaching oral history in both community and academic settings ever since. Al is currently President of Oral History Australia. His oral history books include: Anzac Memories: Living with the Legend (1994), The Oral History Reader (2016), Ten Pound Poms: Australia’s Invisible Migrants (2005), Moving Stories: an intimate history of four women across two countries (2011), Oral History and Photography (2011), and Australian Lives: An Intimate History (2017). Al is currently leading a research project about the history of fathering in Australia and co-editing The Bloomsbury Oral History Handbook. Contact: Alistair.Thomson@monash.edu

Training program format

Timing: the workshop takes place over two consecutive Saturdays.

On each workshop day the session will go from 9.30am – 4 pm with a lunch break from 12 – 1.15 pm.

The annual meeting of the Oral History Association will be held from 30 October to 2 November 2024 in Cincinatti, Ohio, United States.

The annual meeting attracts a broad range of people and features the best work in the field. The meeting enables students and both emerging and established scholars to network and learn valuable skills. The theme for 2024 is Oral History: Bridging Past, Present, and Future.

The Call for Proposals is available at: https://oralhistory.org/2024-call-for-proposals/.  The Submission Portal will open in December 2023.

Find out more:

• Oral History Association website

The annual meeting of the Oral History Association will be held from 30 October to 2 November 2024 in Cincinatti, Ohio, United States.

The annual meeting attracts a broad range of people and features the best work in the field. The meeting enables students and both emerging and established scholars to network and learn valuable skills. The theme for 2024 is Oral History: Bridging Past, Present, and Future.

The Call for Proposals is available at: https://oralhistory.org/2024-call-for-proposals/.  The Submission Portal will open in December 2023.

Find out more:

• Oral History Association website

The National Oral History Association of New Zealand (NOHANZ) will hold its biennial conference from 15-17 November 2024 in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. The theme of the conference is ‘Working Together’.

Abstracts should be submitted by 31 March 2024. Go to the Call for Papers.

Go to the NOHANZ website – https://www.oralhistory.org.nz/index.php/conferences-pastpresent/.