Practicing Oral History With Immigrant Narrators

In addition to the problem of language, conducting oral histories with immigrant narrators often requires special considerations: past violence, cultural sensitivity, and lack of trust. Yet, these narrators are often witnesses to, or participants in, important historical events, or can describe otherwise-undocumented social phenomena. The first book to focus specifically on oral history practices with immigrant narrators, it
-gives both the novice and experienced oral historian insights into their narrators’ needs;
-provides the tools to effectively plan and execute an oral history project in an immigrant community;
-includes case studies, additional resources, and templates of important oral history processes.

Carol McKirdy is proprietor of the oral history consulting company HistoryHerstory based in Sydney, Australia. She has conducted numerous oral history projects through adult education, communities, and societies, including an extensive project with a Sudanese immigrant community in Australia. She has been involved in oral history curriculum development for vocational training, runs an educational oral history wiki website, and is active in the Australian oral history community. McKirdy has a Masters of Studies in Education from University of Wollongong and has decades of experience as a history instructor and languages and literacy teacher in secondary schools and adult education.