Module Catalogue 2025/26

Pre Requisite Comment

N/A

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

This course introduces students to the theory and practice of oral history in the wider context of public history. It equips students with the skills necessary to conduct, record, and edit an audio oral history interview to current broadcast and archive standards.

Outline Of Syllabus

Building on Newcastle University’s research strength through the Oral History Collective, this module introduces students to the theory and ethics of oral history and its use in public history. Students will gain an understanding of a range of current theories and concepts within oral history, including:
- Historical consciousness and public history;
- Collective memory and social remembering;
- The relationship between individual accounts, group narratives, and public memory;
- Historical justice and ageing.

Teaching sessions include lectures, seminars, practical workshops, and drop-in sessions.

Students will be introduced to basic audio recording and editing techniques, as well as the ethical and legal considerations of conducting and (re)using oral history interviews for public audiences. Students will conduct a life history interview, which will be collectively evaluated and discussed in a seminar environment.

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

Students will gain an understanding of a range of current methods and debates within oral history. They will also develop critical awareness of key theoretical and conceptual issues in oral history and public history, including:
- Historical consciousness and public history;
- Collective memory and social remembering;
- The relationship between individual accounts, group narratives, and public memory;
- Historical justice and ageing.
Students will also establish practical insights into:
- The ethical and legal implications of collecting and (re)using oral history interviews;
- Different ways of collecting, interpreting, and presenting oral histories as public history including in audio presentations.
Students' practical work will enhance their knowledge of:
- The technical standards of oral history recording, archiving, and metadata; and
- The application of theories of memory and history to practical tasks, most notably interviewing, and curating oral histories for wider publics.

Intended Skill Outcomes

By the end of the module, students will be able to conduct an oral history interview and produce accompanying documentation and metadata. Through the module and their project work, students will develop key skills in:
- Organising
- Questioning
- Interviewing
- Active listening
- Initiative and decision-making
- Organising and collaborating within small working groups
- Project management
- Time management
- Analytical and critical thinking
- Sharing authority in project work
- Creating an oral history audio presentation for a public history audience
- Digital literacy
- Presentation skills

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Lectures introduce the students to the module's structure, key themes, and historiographical contexts.

Seminars invite students to explore case-studies which offer insights into how the theories of oral history might be applied to public history. They feature examples of how oral history interviews have been used in public history settings and products.

Small group teaching allows students to develop their skills in group work and collaboration. Skills workshops scaffold students' assignment preparation, developing specific skills (see above) to approach and complete module assignments.

Drop-in surgeries afford students valuable additional opportunities to pool ideas and discuss approaches to the assessment, both with peers and with academic tutors.

The module's practical working - encompassing the interview, metadata construction, and audio presentation - enables students to practice and refine key skills. The outputs will also provide students with evidence of their competence in applying knowledge and skills.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The essay assignment tests students' ability to design a research question, conduct independent research, relate primary source documents to broader historiographical problems, marshal evidence, and articulate sophisticated ideas clearly and cogently. This assignment also equips students to begin planning for their second assignment: the essay offers an opportunity to develop theoretical and conceptual knowledge which can be applied in a more creative context in the portfolio assignment.

The portfolio assignment challenges students to showcase their skills in practical working, conducting an interview, constructing metadata, and presenting their work. The assignment further tests students' ability to situate a practical output, namely an oral history interview, in the wider public history landscape. In producing this assignment, the student will develop substantive evidence of their competence in applying knowledge and skills.

General Notes

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