2009 Summer Institute

The 2009 Institute is now full. Applications no longer accepted. Thank you for your interest.

Memory, media, meaning are among the topics to be addressed in a week-long intensive, academically oriented institute on the theory, methodology, and practice of oral/video history. This will take place at The Bancroft Library on the Berkeley campus from August 10 – 14, 2009. The cost of the five day institute is $800.

This institute is designed for academic, independent, public, and community scholars engaged in serious research that in some manner utilizes oral/video history and/or interview-based methodologies. It is geared to scholars and practitioners with a wide-range of interests and expertise, from graduate students just beginning their research to advanced scholars, professors and teachers looking to update their skills or learn a new research methodology. Museum and other institutionally based research projects are welcome and have always comprised a significant part of the institute.

Institute presentations by ROHO faculty and invited specialists will cover: project planning; preparation for interviewing and interview techniques; interview analysis; legal and ethical responsibilities such as copyright and human subject protection requirements. The goal of the institute is to strengthen the ability of its participants to conduct research focused interviews and to consider, in a rigorous academic environment, the special characteristics of interviews as historical evidence.  We will devote particular attention to how oral history interviews can broaden and deepen historical interpretation situated within contemporary discussions of history, subjectivity, memory, and memoir.

The Institute also revolves around the specific work of its participants and the larger historical questions they seek to address. We offer a unique opportunity to workshop your project in small groups tied to our faculty specialists and a cross-section of practitioners with similar interests and problems. Participants will use the institute to develop their own work both conceptually and methodologically, honing the focus of their projects and developing their facility with interviewing in a variety of learning settings including presentations by ROHOs academic faculty, one-on-one tutorials, seminar-style discussions workshops and presentations by guest speakers. We also pay particular attention to the analysis and application of narratives collected.

Resident faculty include: Richard Candida Smith, Director of ROHO and member of UCB’s Department of History; Vic Geraci, author of The Rise of Santa Barbara's Wine Industry; Martin Meeker, author of Contacts Desired: Gay and Lesbian Communications and Community; and Lisa Rubens, director of the Institute and author, An Oral History of Women in California, and Notes From the Field: New Directions in Oral History, in progress. Guest speakers on other specific topics, will be announced later in the Spring.

A daily schedule and reader will be provided, with time allocated for practice with
equipment, some touring, and a bit of fun. One evening is devoted to an oral history of California food and wine, including a wine tasting.

Housing and most meals must be arranged separately. ROHO provides morning coffee and pastries and two lunches. A list of housing options will be made available. If you have further questions, please contact Lisa Rubens.