The Editors of the Oral History Review invite prospective authors to consider themes around oral history, climate change, and the environment for publication beginning in 2027.
Broadly speaking, these themes include but are not limited to oral history and—
- Ecological knowledge
- Agriculture
- Critical animal studies
- Urban ecology
- Environmental change & the climate crises
Some ideas & questions to consider regarding the climate crisis:
- Are oral historians asking questions on climate change in their life story interviews?
- If engagement with (solving) climate change is a political act, what role can and does oral history play?
- When oral historians interview in community, are they addressing home/sense of place, weather pattern and environmental changes over time?
- What about public health, inequality & environmental justice?
- What role does oral history play in shaping environmental policy? At the federal level, is oral history being used to gather knowledge and improve public policies?
- What does the integration of oral history into scientific research look like?
- In the U.S., the federal government has made egregious funding cuts to NOAA. What will be the long-term consequences of these cuts and to the NOAA Voices Oral History Archives? What other archives should be explored?
- In what ways do (and should) oral historians communicate and disseminate climate?
- War and migration are also, and will increasingly be, a big part of climate change stories.
For reference, see recent OHR articles on oral history and climate change:
- Ricia Anne Chansky, “Oral History and the Climate Crisis: Listening in the Aftermath of Disaster” (Spring 2024, 51(2), 321–350). https://doi.org/10.1080/00940798.2024.2380507
- Liz Skilton, “Capturing that which is Fleeting: Using History Harvests to Collect Rapid Response Oral Histories of Disaster Experience” (Fall 2024, 51(2), 278–320). https://doi.org/10.1080/00940798.2024.2382902
- S. Weaver, T. Bakhmetyeva & D. W. Rinn, “Climate Witness: Oral Environmental History and Community-Based Research—A Case Study from Trans-Himalayan India” (Spring 2022, 49(1), 56–76). https://doi.org/10.1080/00940798.2022.2038016
To be considered for the Spring 2027 issue, submissions are due by July 2026, but we accept submissions on a rolling basis.
Please read our Mission Statement https://oralhistory.org/about-the-oral-history-review/ and contact the editors with any questions:
Holly Werner-Thomas, Editor-in-Chief, holly@hollythomasoralhistory.com
Molly Todd, Managing Editor, managingeditorohr@gmail.com