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Oral History Centre

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An innovative and dynamic component of the Canadian History Centre ... Abe and Bertha Arnold Oral History Research Fund established (so far, 40K) ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Oral History Centre


1
Oral History Centre
  • The Campus, the Community, and the Global Oral
    History at the University of Winnipeg

2
Oral History Centre
  • Located in Bryce Hall
  • An innovative and dynamic component of the
    Canadian History Centre
  • Supports the Universitys vision and priorities
    of accessibility, community outreach, and
    capacity building.
  • Strengthens the Universitys research capacities
    and moves them forward in dynamic and new
    directions through enhanced opportunities for
    faculty and, potentially, graduate research and
    teaching, innovation in audio and video
    digitization technologies, and a program of local
    and international summer institutes, workshops,
    and conferences.
  • Securing a national and international reputation
    for the Oral History Centre within fives years of
    its formal initiation is a realistic objective
    because it builds upon the Universitys existing
    human and physical resources and has significant
    potential to attract public and private sector
    support.

3
Vision
  • The Oral History Centre at the University of
    Winnipeg strives to become a national leader and
    global innovator in developing excellence in oral
    history teaching, research and collaborative
    community development. In so doing, the Centre
    promotes oral history as a means of democratizing
    history and thus of working towards social
    justice and human rights in a globalizing world.

4
Mission
  • The Oral History Centre serves as a hub for
    faculty and students at the University of
    Winnipeg, for members of Winnipegs and
    Manitobas diverse communities, and for the
    broader national and global communities of oral
    history practitioners to collaboratively learn
    about the practice and theory of oral history, to
    work together on improving the quality and
    widening the scope of oral history research, and
    to develop new ways of using oral history to
    improve the quality of life for diverse
    constituencies.

5
To achieve these goals, the OHC
  • promotes interdisciplinary practice, analysis and
    integration of oral history into academic
    research and teaching, public policy, and
    collaborative community development.
  • leverages the existing skills, expertise and
    resources of the History Department, the Centre
    for Canadian History, the Canadian Oral History
    Association, and related activities, to establish
    and promote local, national, and global
    campus-community partnerships.
  • enhances innovative student training to develop
    new ways of transferring skills and knowledge in
    diverse settings.
  • provides a gateway for Canadians to learn about
    global oral history practices and for the global
    community to learn about Canadian oral history
    practices and projects.

6
  • serves as a virtual and real meeting place for
    oral historians from around the world.
  • seeks external funding for projects of relevance
    to the communities within which its affiliates
    engage.
  • promotes research projects and programs of
    research that are consistent with the goals of
    national funding agencies, such as SSHRC, which
    urge scholars to assess the relevance of their
    research in relation to non-academic communities
    and settings, and to develop knowledge impact
    strategies for their research.
  • strives to develop a substantial grant-funded
    research program that includes scholars from
    across the disciplines and universities, as well
    as relevant partners from the public sector and
    community organizations.

7
Relevance of Oral History
  • Oral history is a method of historical and social
    scientific inquiry and analysis that includes
    life histories, story telling, narratives and
    qualitative research. The practice of oral
    history is universal we all engage in oral
    history practices in our everyday lives, in
    telling our stories or listening to others. At
    every step, oral history is grounded in local
    knowledge and is connected to global experiences.
    As a method of exploring the past, oral history
    builds peoples capacity to appreciate the
    complexities of history, to critically evaluate
    the role of history in society, and, perhaps most
    importantly, to participate in the making of
    history. Oral history has become a powerful tool
    for indigenous peoples, women, migrants, working
    people, minorities, and other groups to find out
    about their own past, to tell their stories, and
    to write themselves (back) into history.

8
Democratizing History
  • Oral history has emerged as a movement to
    democratize history to make history more
    accessible to a wider public, to include a
    greater diversity of people in the histories that
    are written and told, and to encourage more
    people to participate in the practice of history.
    The full value of oral history as an instrument
    for individual and community empowerment can be
    realized through teaching and training in the
    practice, and in interpretation and analysis of
    the meanings of stories.

9
Why Do We Need the Oral History Centre Now?
  • Canada has emerged as a major site of oral
    history.
  • Canadians have developed a rare expertise in
    research on indigenous oral traditions.
  • The Oral History Centre, in cooperation with the
    Canadian Oral History Association, will take
    leadership in building on the strengths of this
    local and national momentum, and to relate that
    learning to international settings in
    collaborative ways.

10
Oral History is at 3 Critical Junctures
  • A new generation of oral historians is
    transforming the practice of oral history towards
    more interdisciplinarity and innovation.
  • The digital revolution requires institutional
    leadership to help researchers transform
    challenges into opportunities for creative new
    ways of doing oral history.
  • Globalization has created massive socio-economic,
    political, and environmental changes that can be
    effectively researched and addressed through oral
    history. Oral history helps us better understand,
    for example, how to empower Aboriginal
    communities, think creatively of sustainability
    and environments, and develop public policy.

11
OHC Achievements to Date
  • Oral History in Canada International
    Workshop-Conference, 18-20 August 2005,
    University of Winnipeg).
  • Transfer of the Canadian Oral History Association
    (COHA) to the University of Winnipeg in 2005.
    Nolan Reilly and Alexander Freund took over as
    co-chairs of COHA in 2005.
  • COHA website developed (www.canoha.ca).
  • Guide to Oral History Collections in Canada
    digitized and made available at www.canoha.ca.
  • Transformation of the Oral History Forum into an
    electronic journal.
  • All previous volumes of Oral History Forum
    digitized and made available at www.canoha.ca
  • Allocation of space in Bryce Hall through the
    creation of the Canadian History Centre.

12
  • Abe and Bertha Arnold Oral History Research Fund
    established (so far, 40K) Seeded several oral
    history projects, including projects on human
    rights, palliative care, Filipino immigrant
    community in Winnipeg, and North End immigrant
    profiles.
  • Additional investment and support for the Oral
    History Centre acquired (20 K)
  • Informal partnership development international
    oral history societies and programs CBC Radio
    and TV historical societies oral
    history-related programs at UW, UM, Red River
    College local, provincial, national and
    international archives.
  • History Dept. has developed and offered a
    third-year, six-credit-hour course on oral
    history since 2006.
  • History Dept. has helped faculty to use of oral
    history in the classroom.
  • Developmental work in establishing awards in oral
    history.

13
Benefits of OHC Expansion
  • The vision of the Oral History Centre builds on
    past achievements and has enormous potential to
    benefit the University and surrounding community
    in profound ways. The wide scope of the practice
    and theory of oral history lends itself well to
  • promoting high-quality, relevant
    interdisciplinary research
  • supporting the development of meaningful
    campus-community partnerships
  • meeting the needs of students in the community
    (e.g., Aboriginal students, international
    students, adult learners and others) by giving
    them widely transferable skills through workshops
    and summer institutes
  • supporting technological innovation in the
    digitization of oral sources and
  • attracting external public and private research
    funding.

14
OHC Benefits
  • To Canadian History Centre excellence in study
    of history
  • To UW position UW as leader in oral history
  • To Winnipeg and Manitoba community development
  • To Canada provide leadership in best practice
    (community and academic research)
  • To international community provide leadership in
    discussion of integrating oral history and oral
    tradition research

15
Funding Opportunities
  • Private Donations (e.g. Arnold Fund, so far 40K)
  • External Project and Research Funds (Heritage
    Canada, Manitoba Heritage Council, Parks Canada
    Canadian Council on Learning Canadian Institutes
    for Health Research Hannah Institute for the
    History of Medicine grants UW Marsha Hanen
    Global Dialogue and Ethics Program, SSHRC
    Knowledge Impact in Society (KIS) initiative,
    Leaders Opportunity Fund (Canada Foundation for
    Innovation Trudeau Foundation, MacArthur
    Foundation)
  • Digitization and Enhanced Infrastructure Funds
    (SSHRCs Image, Text, Sound and Technology
    (ITST) grants Heritage Canadas Digital
    Future grants program, incl. the New Media
    Research and Development Initiative, the New
    Media Research Networks Fund, and the
    Partnerships Fund)

16
NEXT STEPS IN OPERATIONALIZING THE OHC
  • The initiatives towards the creation of an Oral
    History Centre at the University of Winnipeg have
    reached a critical juncture. Several steps must
    be taken to ensure that the past efforts are now
    given the support needed to bring the Centre up
    to the next level of achievement

17
Director
  • Most importantly, the position of a director
    needs to be established. The director is
    cross-appointed between the History Dept. and the
    OHC.
  • Initially a sessional appointment, evolving to a
    probationary position as the Centre develops.
  • Director will teach existing courses in oral
    history and developing the Departments
    methodological courses in oral history.

18
Foundational Activities (First 2 Years)
  • Director will be charged with these tasks
  • Oversee the development of the OHC in Bryce Hall
  • Develop a funding strategy
  • Develop a community outreach plan
  • Explore and develop partnership opportunities
  • Develop a governance and advisory structure for
    the Oral History Centre
  • Develop research road map to explore the links
    between oral history and oral tradition

19
Long-Term Goals (1)
  • OHC will become a virtual and real meeting place
    for faculty and students at the University of
    Winnipeg, for members of Winnipegs and
    Manitobas diverse communities, and for the
    broader national and global communities of oral
    history practitioners.
  • Students, faculty and community members will
    learn oral history skills, collaborate on
    projects, improve oral history practice, advance
    oral history theory, and develop new ways of
    using oral history to improve the quality of life
    for diverse constituencies.
  • They will leverage existing skills and resources
    of the History Department, the University and the
    community and develop new skills and resources
    through creative collaboration and multiple
    partnerships.

20
Long-Term Goals (2)
  • They will apply their newly-learned skills to
    enhance the practice and understanding of history
    in society, to advance their careers in
    fulfilling directions, and to develop their
    communities in constructive ways.
  • They will learn from oral historians from around
    the world and teach them in turn about their
    Canadian experience and expertise.
  • The OHC will be funded by diverse sources,
    including public funding agencies and private
    partners.

21
CONCLUSION
  • Oral History is a history built around people. It
    thrusts life into history itself and widens its
    scope. It allows heroes from the unknown
    majority of the people. It encourages teachers
    and students to become fellow-workers. It brings
    history into, and out of, the community. It helps
    the less privileged towards dignity and
    self-confidence. It makes for contact and hence
    understanding between social classes, and
    between generations. In short it makes for
    fuller human beings.

22
  • To make for fuller human beings is at the heart
    of academia. We have some way to go before
    achieving this goal within universities, and an
    even longer way to go in making this a reality in
    the communities in which we work and live. The
    Oral History Centre at the University of Winnipeg
    can play an important role towards achieving
    these noble goals.

23
Oral History Centre Director tenured faculty
position in History Dept. History Dept. with
direct links to Riley, Plett, Mennonite St., GCS,
CRC
24
COHA Website
25
Oral History Forum - eJournal
26
Staff Requirements
  • Director
  • Administrative Assistant

27
Space Requirements
  • Offices for director and admin asst.
  • Library
  • Editing Room
  • Studio
  • Teaching Lab
  • Research and study rooms
  • Visiting scholar office
  • Conference room
  • Seminar room

28
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