At the heart of oral history is the interview encounter between interviewer and interviewee, and the primary focus of the course is how to conduct ethical and effective interviews. Through the process of conducting their own interviews, pupils will develop valuable communication and interpersonal skills, particularly in listening, speaking, observation and empathy. The course aims to enhance their self-awareness and ability to think critically. Pupils will be able to apply the knowledge gained throughout this course to analyse and interpret interviews more broadly and in other contexts, particularly in the social sciences, journalism and popular media. Core questions we will consider are: Why is it important to tell our life stories? What’s important to capture about history? Whose stories matter?
This programme is in partnership with the Brilliant Club, an award winning charity that places researchers in schools and seeks to raise the aspirations of young people from under-represented backgrounds.