Courses

  • 6 Lessons

    HUM 300 Certificate in Oral History for Social Change

    Oral history can be a powerful tool for those working for social change and social justice. The stories we share about our lives and everyday experiences shape the world we live in and often determine the ways others understand their place in the world. Traditional historical narratives have often excluded voices from marginalized communities such as women, people of color, indigenous, young people, lgbtq+, disabled persons, and others. Leaving their stories out of the historical record further contributes to their disempowerment. By making spaces for the telling and preservation of these stories, oral history can support a more capacious and inclusive historical narrative, which is an important mechanism for social change.

    Oral histories can describe the world as it is, but they can also be spaces to identify social problems and imagine social alternatives. Oral historians conduct interviews, transcribe and index the recordings, analyze the oral histories, archive and share them with their audience, often for educational purposes. This certificate program introduces adult learners to Oral History as a tool for social change and helps develop the skills and strategies needed to conduct oral histories ethically and effectively. Building on the Institute for Diversity and Civic Life's extensive oral history training and archival expertise, we walk you through the steps needed to design and execute your own oral history project. Our approach to oral history for social change is informed by our Religions Texas initiative, which is a community-based archive that seeks to diversify the historical record and empower Texans to tell their stories on their own terms.

  • 4 Lessons

    HUM 301 Introduction to Oral History

    Oral History is an accessible research methodology that provides everyday stories with a place in the historical record. In this interactive course, you will uncover the origins of oral history as a distinct research methodology and learn what steps you need to take to begin your project. You will also discover the ways the Institute for Diversity and Civic Life uses oral history as a means to explore the diversity of lived religions in Texas.
  • 4 Lessons

    HUM 302 Oral History and Social Justice

    Oral History is a tool for documenting and preserving marginalized stories that would otherwise go unheard. This course will teach you how to use oral history as a method and tool for social justice and social change. You will delve into the many ethical concerns of oral history projects and learn how to approach them with care, compassion, and trauma awareness. Finally, you will examine the work of influential scholars, practitioners, and projects to help you evaluate the many ways oral history may promote social change.
  • 4 Lessons

    HUM 303 Oral History Project Planning

    In this course, you will cultivate the skills required to design an ethically-guided oral history project. You will reflect on what you hope to learn from your project and build a plan that satisfies your goals. You will develop interview strategies, prepare for your first encounters with potential narrators, and review the Formal Agreement (or Release Forms) needed to conduct oral history interviews.
  • 4 Lessons

    HUM 304 Conducting Oral History Interviews

    Oral History interviewing is an incredibly gratifying experience, but having someone share their most cherished memories with you also comes with a lot of responsibilities. Through this course, you will learn interview techniques and best practices to sustain this work. You will learn about subjectivity and intersubjectivity, self-care for the interviewer, and how to frame questions so narrators can tell their story on their own terms. At the same time, you will learn to set professional boundaries to hold both you and your narrators with care.
  • 4 Lessons

    HUM 305 Archiving and Curating Oral Histories

    Oral historians employ various tools to develop their archives, engage communities, and creatively  work toward social change. In this course, you will learn tips and tricks for processing and organizing oral histories for the archive. We will review the importance of metadata, provide how-to’s for transcription, discuss ways to design an accessible archive, talk with an expert in the field, and explore a range of projects that creatively present oral histories for social change.