Oral histories can be quite fascinating, and a number of significant collections have been placed online as of late. One of the best-known projects might be Harvard University's own Iranian Oral History Project (IOHP). The collection consists of the personal accounts of over 150 individuals who were eyewitnesses (or active participants) to a range of crucial political events in Iran from the 1920s...

In the four years between 1942 and 1946, the United States government "evacuated" and interned more than 120,000 Japanese American citizens as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066. The U.S. government has since admitted that there was little evidence for the disloyalty of the internees, and that the entire affair was based on "race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure...

Listening to the stories of those whose experiences have shaped our understanding of history can be extremely impactful. The Oral History Association (OHA) was founded in 1966 in the effort to preserve living connections with the past and to enhance understanding of historical experience. This international organization "engages with policy makers, educators, and others to help foster best...

The Oral History in the Digital Age website connects interested persons and organizations to a range of resources related to crafting a meaningful and dynamic oral history project. Crafted by people at Michigan State University with funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the site contains critical essays, How-To guides, and an elaborate wiki. The Getting Started area is a...

Stretching back thousands of years, the oral traditions that have enriched and documented human existence remain a subject of much fascination. The Oral Tradition Journal was founded in 1986 in order to "serve as an international and interdisciplinary forum for discussion of worldwide oral traditions and related forms." The journal is based at the University of Missouri, and visitors to the site...

Radio Diaries is a nonprofit radio production company which looks "to find extraordinary stories in ordinary places, to create original and moving first-person documentaries - true radio verite - from voices that are rarely heard." And that it does. Radio Diaries staff train all kinds of people -- from teenagers to the elderly -- to become reporters. These fledgling reporters create tapes about...

Begun in 1994 by the history department of Rutgers University, the Oral History Archive of World War II site (last mentioned in the April 7, 1998 Scout Report for Social Sciences) features transcriptions of interviews with 238 veterans (both men and women) of the war. While the project began with members of the Rutgers class of 1942, it was later expanded to involve many more alumni. The...

A collaborative effort by the City University of New York's Brooklyn College, John Jay College, and the Center for Media and Learning / American Social History Project at the CUNY Graduate Center, this oral history Web site offers a case study of the impact of World War II and the domestic Cold War on student life at Brooklyn College. The site primarily focuses on oral accounts of former students...

This site, developed by the Chicago Historical Society, is a tribute to Studs Terkel, the noted oral historian, author, and radio host for over fifty years. Organized into galleries that are largely centered around the extensive interviews that Mr. Terkel did for each of one of his books, each section contains dozens of audio clips of these long-form interviews. A biography section of Mr. Terkel...

The Krueger-Scott Oral History Collection documents the experiences of African Americans who migrated to Newark, New Jersey between 1910-1970. Launched in the late 1990s, the project is a partnership between Rutgers University-Newark Center for Migration and the Global City, a number of local libraries and museums, and volunteers. The team interviewed over 120 Newark residents who either migrated...