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ARMSTRONG ATLANTIC STATE UNIVERSITY
By: Katherine D. Ferreira
Oral History is the art of collecting historical data through conducting interviews and preserving this information through written transcripts, audio recordings, or video recordings. Dr. Barbara Fertig introduced this method of research to Armstrong Atlantic State University in 1993. In that same year, along with Laura Devendorf, Dr. Fertig established a field school at the Seabrook Living History Museum. This field school provided a place for students in the public history program to gain practical experience in the fields of archaeology, oral history, and vernacular architecture.
In addition to the work done at Seabrook, oral history fieldwork has been conducted at sites such as Carver Heights and Pin Point in Savannah, Georgia. It is through interviews with people such as Reverend Wright, Reverend Brown, and Isaac Martin that students have collected information and provided primary source material on these areas for future generations.
The Oral History class is designed to train students to conduct interviews through readings and observations, and to provide practical experience through the assignment of a research project. Some of the projects that have been researched include Lydia Moreten's prize-winning research on textiles in the Seabrook community, Steve Gonser's work on the history of the Palmira Baptist Church building, a Civil Rights project completed by Dan Fornea, and The Women of Irene project by Gail Whelan.
All history majors are encouraged to take the oral history class at AASU because it brings in an integral part of history that lies outside of the traditional textbook. According to Dr. Fertig, oral history, itself, is a way to make history more populist, and it gives a different perspective of a particular subject or event. Oral history is one more valuable method of research.
Contact Dr. Barbara Fertig in the Armstrong Atlantic State University History Department.
All images are from the collection of Dr. Barbara Fertig
Oral History Classes in Pin Point, Georgia
Oral History Classes in Seabrook, Georgia
Faculty / Undergraduate Programs / Graduate Programs / Public History / Phi Alpha Theta / Savannah Images Project / Society for Industrial Archeology 28th Annual Conference / Archaeology / Links of Interest / History Department / AASU Home
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