Objectives

The goal of this project is to recognize the “living history” that exists in the stories of our ancestors, and the role the media have played in shaping those memories. This project also promotes appreciation of the role of storytelling (by both individuals and institutions) in shaping our past, our present, and our future, as both individuals and members of a particular culture. The project seeks to examine the connections between “living history” and the media by looking at the links between individual memory, collective memory, and the media. The learning outcomes of this assignment include: 1.) recognizing history as a useful frame for understanding the present, particularly the role media play in shaping collective memory; 2.) appreciating and utilizing history as a tool for research in and understanding of media industries and professionals; 3.) demonstrating the ability to think critically, clearly, and creatively about media history; 4.) applying concepts and theories, specifically collective memory; 5.) exhibiting the ability to conduct historical media research and critically evaluate and synthesize the information gathered from scholarly sources and personal interviews; 6.) presenting a clear, thoughtful, and well-argued project. This assignment addresses the following ELOs: Written Communication, Information Fluency, Critical Thinking, and Visual Literacy.

Overview

You will conduct an oral history interview with either a family or community member about a particular historical time or event in his or her life. As the person is telling his or her story, you will make connections between the subject’s lived experience and the social, political, and historical contexts of the era as reflected through the media. You will then write an essay or produce a creative work based on the interview and background research on the topic under discussion. *Note: In order to avoid having 20+ projects on 9/11 (yes – that’s happened!), that topic is prohibited unless you can make a compelling argument to me to allow an exception.

The Interview

The first thing you need to do is select a family or community member to interview. You should plan on spending at least 45 minutes on the actual interview. Before going into the interview, you’ll need to focus it by deciding on a topic and coming up with some questions based on what you think will be the most interesting thing to talk to your interview subject about. Keep in mind the tie between individual and collective memory, and the role the media play in shaping both. Some examples: Ask your great-grandmother about the media coverage of the JFK assassination and funeral; talk to your grandfather about growing up as the child of a Holocaust survivor; interview your uncle about his experiences in Vietnam and what he thought about the media coverage of the war; talk to your grandmother about the impact of the Civil Rights Movement; interview your mother about the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion; find out from your aunt what it was like to be at Woodstock, etc. Your goal is to examine the role the media has played in this person’s life, specifically how their individual memory is linked to the larger collective memory of their era or a particular event. *It is highly recommended that you either audiotape or videotape your interview. Not only is this the only way to accurately quote your interview subject in your essay, it is also a nice artifact to have that documents part of your family history.

Background Research – Sources

In order to conduct a good interview, you need to know your subject. You will be required to come up with a minimum of three scholarly sources – one scholarly source on collective memory and two related to the topic you plan to discuss with the person you are interviewing. You also need to use at least two primary media sources (articles, video clips, songs, etc.) related to your topic. These sources will be related to the social, political, and historical climate of the time period you are focusing on, providing you with the contextual background necessary to formulate your questions and later to establish the era/event in your project. The collective memory articles read for class will count as scholarly collective memory sources. You may also use additional non-scholarly resources (ex: newspaper & magazine articles, credible websites) as background sources. However, you should rely primarily on your scholarly and primary sources and you are cautioned not to rely too heavily on just one source.

Proposal

All students will submit an email proposal that outlines their research plan topic and the person/s you plan to interview for approval on Thursday, March 4^th 2021.

Option 1: Traditional Essay

This option involves writing a 7 – 9 page essay based on your interview and background sources. Remember, your goal is to show how media help to connect individual and collective memories, so your thesis should reflect the relationship between the two. Your essay should include the following information: a clear introduction including your thesis (which is your argument regarding the links between individual and collective memory), a section providing the contextual background for your topic (*begin incorporating your sources in this paragraph), a section relating the personal and mediated experiences of your interview subject (background sources may also be incorporated here along with information from the interview), and a conclusion that explains the importance of media in shaping both our personal and social histories, and our individual and collective memories. You must also include a “Works Cited” page and all sources throughout the paper must be properly cited according to MLA style. FAILURE TO PROPERLY CITE ALL SOURCES RESULTS IN AN AUTOMATIC “F” ON THE ASSIGNMENT.