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Sharing Stories
Inspiring Change
Tell Me Your Story
How to Collect Oral Histories
Sharing Stories
Inspiring Change
Sharing Stories
Inspiring Change
Who is this person?
What did this person do?
Why did they do it?
Who am I?
What do I do / What do I want to do?
Why do I do it?
You Cannot Be What You Cannot See
Sharing Stories
Inspiring Change
Sharing Stories, Inspiring Change
POWER COUPLESPower Couples showcases extraordinary Jewish women, matching an
early female trailblazer with a modern woman at the top of her game.
What is oral
history?
Sharing Stories
Inspiring Change
Components of an oral history project
Collecting
(Interviews)
Sharing
(Presentation/Preservation)
Connecting
(Project/Research)
Why do we collect
oral histories?
Sharing Stories
Inspiring Change
We are all responsible for collecting and
telling these stories
Weaving Women’s Words:
Dr. Ruth Finkelstein, Baltimore
Women Who Dared:
Dr. Lynn Amowitz, Physicians
for Human Rights
Katrina’s Jewish Voices,
Joel Brown, Owner of Kosher
Cajun restaurant in New
Orleans
Sharing Stories
Inspiring Change
Oral history builds and diversifies the historical
record
Sharing Stories
Inspiring Change
Sharing stories makes communities stronger
Sharing Stories
Inspiring Change
Stories help people construct identity
Sharing Stories
Inspiring Change
Two people perform two roles
• Narrator—the person
telling the story
• Interviewer—the person
asking the questions
Sharing Stories
Inspiring Change
Interviewer has two main
responsibilities
Sharing Stories
Inspiring Change
Asking great questions
What would you ask someone if
you wanted to learn more about
their Jewish identity and
religious/cultural practices?
Sharing Stories
Inspiring Change
Types of questions
1. Closed-ended questions• For gathering facts
• Have clear answers
• Who, what, when, where, how many
2. Open-ended questions• Elicit stories, feelings, and memories
• Describe, tell me about, why, how
3. Both are essential
Sharing Stories
Inspiring Change
One - two punch method
• Switch off between open
and closed questions
• Draft extra questions
• Follow the narrator’s lead
and the interviewer’s
interest/curiosity
Sharing Stories
Inspiring Change
Role playing: What not to do
Sharing Stories
Inspiring Change
What not to do
• Ask too many questions at once
• Interrupt the narrator
• Interrupt with “uh huh,” or “mmmm.” Instead use non-
verbal communication to show you are listening.
• Offer your own experiences or stories. This is not a
conversation.
• Express assumptions e.g. “Wow, you must have been so
angry.”
Sharing Stories
Inspiring Change
Practice with a partner!
Sharing Stories
Inspiring Change
JWA resources for collecting stories
• In Our Own Voices• Resource for conducting life history interviews with Jewish women
• http://jwa.org/stories/how-to/guide
• Family History Tool Kit• Guide adapted for tweens/teens (for girls but anyone can use it)
• http://mybatmitzvahstory.org
• Museum of Family History• Lesson plan for creating a museum of stories and artifacts
• http://mybatmitzvahstory.org/content/museum-family-history
Sharing Stories
Inspiring Change
Other resources for collecting and sharing stories
• StoryCorps (http://storycorps.org/)• DIY Guide for National Day of Listening (Day after Thanksgiving)
• http://nationaldayoflistening.org/downloads/DIY-Instruction-Guide.pdf
• Contemporary Jewish Museum (http://www.thecjm.org/)• “Stories of Survival”: Creating and Exploring Oral Histories in the Classroom
• http://www.thecjm.org/storage/documents/education/2013/Oral_History_Curriculum_Resource-FINAL.pdf
What else do you
need to know?
What ideas do you
have?
Sharing Stories
Inspiring Change
Tell Me Your Story
How to Collect Oral Histories
