Call for Papers
OHA Annual Conference
Oct. 12-16, 2016
Long Beach, California
Renaissance Hotel
“OHA@50: Traditions, Transitions and Technologies from the Field” is the theme of the 2016 Oral History Association 50th anniversary meeting, set for Oct. 12-16 at the Renaissance Hotel in Long Beach, California.
The OHA invites proposals that reflect on the evolution of this interdisciplinary field, assess current trends and look ahead into oral history’s future.
The Southern California location of the 50th anniversary conference marks a return to the West Coast, where the First National Colloquium on Oral History took place at Lake Arrowhead, California, in 1966, leading to the founding of the Oral History Association.
The past 50 years have seen enormous transformations in oral history, from a more sophisticated consideration of the interview process itself and of how people remember, to the extension of oral history practice into multiple disciplines and settings.
Despite the changes, much also remains constant. The concerns of those who gathered at Lake Arrowhead—what makes a good interview, sound ethical guidelines, the relationship between specific technology and historical practice, issues of access—remain lively today.
The participants at Lake Arrowhead would have concurred with OHA’s current stated values of democracy, inclusivity and quality. As it has since its inception, the OHA remains committed to fostering best practice in every aspect of the oral history process, in all the diverse places where it is done.
The OHA Program Committee invites proposals from the widely varying fields in which oral history is practiced and encourages innovative presentations.
Proposals must be submitted online at OHA 2016, where you also can see the detailed call for papers.
If you have questions, please contact one of the following:
Sady Sullivan, program co-chair, Columbia Center for Oral History, Columbia University, sas2358@columbia.edu
Sarah Milligan, program co-chair, Oklahoma Oral History Research Program, Oklahoma State University, sarah.milligan@okstate.edu
Doug Boyd, OHA vice president, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky, doug.boyd@uky.edu
