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Oral History Academic Internship Program

The Samuel Proctor Oral History Program at the University of Florida offers semester-long academic internships, available to graduate and undergraduate students for 3 credit hours, which serve as an introduction to the field of oral history.

Intern duties include learning oral history methodology and field research techniques, including conducting, transcribing, and audit-editing interviews.

In addition to this core structure, internships are tailored to the strengths of our students: are you interested in event planning? Public relations? Audio and film editing? We have the resources and opportunities to help you.

Course Goals

Each semester, SPOHP seeks motivated students to help to reach program goals. The internship is designed to provide students with an introduction to the field of oral history, as well as hands-on experience in the areas of research, interviewing, processing, technology, and educational outreach. Each semester, interns accomplish several main goals:

  • Build foundational knowledge of oral history methodology and research use
  • Work on oral history interview processing
  • Conduct an original oral history interview
  • Develop a podcast for the UFDC and iTunes broadcast
  • Contribute to the class group video project

Upcoming Internship Courses:

HIS4944 Introduction to Oral History: Stories of Freedom Seekers and Freedom Conductors offers students training in the field of oral history, best practices and ethics, and fieldwork and processing. This in-person, 3-credit internship is structured around our partnership with the National Parks Service’s National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program to record interviews with descendants of freedom seekers and freedom conductors along the Underground Railroad. Students will attend weekly seminars for group discussion and instruction, and will also design and undertake their own oral history projects. Email spohp@clas.ufl.edu for more information by December 1st, 2023. We will cap the course at 10 participants*.

* HIS4944 is currently filled, but you can still email us to be added to the waiting list.

Past Internship Courses

Recent Internship Courses:

Fall 2020 Internship

2020
HIS 4944 (Section 14153)
Fall 2020 Oral History Internship
Mondays, 11:45 – 1:40 (periods 5-6)

For more information, contact Ryan Morini. Please email applications to SPOHP Internship or deliver to SPOHP offices, Pugh Hall 241.

Internship News, Projects, and Collection Development

  • Dr. Ortiz is teaching an intro to oral history course…
    SPOHP Director Dr. Paul Ortiz is teaching a course this spring on oral history! This interdisciplinary seminar is an intensive introduction to the theory and practice of oral history. Students will have access to the resources of the award-winning Samuel Proctor Oral History Program. We will learn the craft of oral history interviewing and digital production. We will study the ...
  • Our Summer B Intro to Oral History Course Will Focus on FL Farmworker History
    Summer B 2018, July 2 – August 10 AMH 3593: Introduction to Oral History Course Overview This course will introduce students to the theories and methods of oral history. Oral history is an important methodological approach to documenting the past which allows historians to engage directly with narrators who share their life experiences touching on any number of ...
  • From Colored to Black: The Stories of North Central Florida
    We will be sharing nine dramatic vignettes created by our students and performed by members of the local theatre community with our performance, “From Colored to Black: The Stories of North Central Florida,” at the Harn Museum of Art‘s Museum Nights this Thursday night! The performance, a partnership with Actors’ Warehouse, Inc., will take place 6:00-7:00PM in ...
  • Tale of Two Houses: A Dialogue on Black and Latinx History at UF
    Event: Tale of Two Houses: A Dialogue on Black and Latinx History at UF Date: Friday, March 30, 2018 Time: 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM Location: Pugh Hall – Ocora Join us for a discussion on the histories of the Institute of Black Culture (IBC) and the Institute of Hispanic/Latino Cultures (La Casita), including their founding and their entwined legacies. ...
  • Trinidad Study Abroad Registration Deadline Extended – March 30
    There is a registration deadline extension for our summer study abroad course in the historic and scenic Trinidad & Tobago. If interested please apply at: International Center (University of Florida International Center UFIC) by Friday, March 30th. Check out the program and course offerings, and join us in Trinidad & Tobago! Read more "Trinidad Study Abroad Registration Deadline ...
  • “Voices of Dreamers” Students fundraising for SOHA Conference in LA
    Since launching the “Voices of Dreamers” project to conduct interviews with undocumented students, our students are now fundraising to share their research at the Southwestern Oral History Conference at Cal State Fullerton this April. Read more "“Voices of Dreamers” Students fundraising for SOHA Conference in LA"
  • “Voices From The March” Students Fundraise to Perform at SOHA Conference
    https://vimeo.com/254959350 After headlining the 2018 UF Social Justice Summit this past January Voices from the March will be traveling to California this April to perform at the Southwest Oral History Association Annual Conference, hosted at California State University, Fullerton! Please help us raise money to assist in covering the travel and lodging costs for our cast. We have been working so ...
  • Applications Open for our Fall 2018 Internship!
    There have always been women, people of color, and queer folks in punk rock, both in the U.S. and throughout the wider world. Punks from countries as varied as Peru, Spain, Indonesia, Russia, and beyond have braved incarceration, religious re-education camps, and even forced disappearances in honoring the lifestyle and artistic expression that they have ...
  • Safe Spaces: Episode 3 – “Miracle On 13th Street”
    In this latest episode of our podcast series Safe Spaces, Anupa Kotipoyna looks back at the creation of the India Cultural and Education Center (ICEC) in Gainesville, Florida. Read more "Safe Spaces: Episode 3 – “Miracle On 13th Street”"
  • Art of Aging
    In the summer of 2017 SPOHP partnered with UF College of Medicine, to develop an oral history segment for the Geriatrics Medicine Clerkship, a required rotation for all 4th year medical students that Dr. Otto directs. SPOHP’s Ryan Thompson took on leadership for its half of the partnership. This marked the beginning of another significant ...

For additional information, contact SPOHP, call the offices at (352) 392-7168, and connect with us online today.