People as Primary Sources: Conducting Interviews

Article Body

The Bracero Archive which focuses on migrant workers in the 20th century, has a tutorial for conducting oral history interviews. The tutorial, a narrated PowerPoint presented in a video, provides a variety of information including general advice about setting the tone for the interview and what types of questions to ask, as well as technical advice about using recording equipment. Some of the information in the tutorial is specific to the Bracero Archive project, but most of it is general information that will help students conduct interviews; and as students develop an understanding of how to conduct interviews, they can also gain insights that will help them analyze other oral history interviews.

To watch the video, scroll to "Video Tutorials," then to "Conducting an oral history interview."

Voices from the Dust Bowl: 1940-1941

Image
Annotation

These materials examine Depression-era migrant work camps in central California. The Farm Security Administration (FSA) managed the camps that were primarily inhabited by migrants from the rural areas of Oklahoma and nearby states. The collection of materials include 371 audio recordings of songs, interviews, and camp announcements and transcriptions of 113 songs. Print and image materials include 23 photographs, newspaper clippings, and 11 camp newsletters.

Additional materials address the role of the ethnographer, including a Works Progress Administration folk song questionnaire; the field notes and correspondence of Charles L. Todd and Robert Sonkin, the original collectors of the materials; and two published magazine articles by Todd. Topics range from camp court proceedings and personal narratives to square dances and baseball games. The website also includes a bibliography, a background essay, and an essay on the recording expedition. This is a valuable site for the study of Depression-era migrants, their folk traditions, and the documentary impulse of the period.