The Dartmouth Vietnam Project Launched

Are you interested in learning the art of oral history interviewing?  The Dartmouth Vietnam Project (DVP), launched in summer 2014 and sponsored by the History Department, is an experiential learning program that provides a group of Dartmouth students the chance to get hands-on practice in this exciting field of historical research.

The main goal of the DVP is to produce an online archive of oral history interviews with older members of the Dartmouth community (alumni, faculty, staff, NH residents, and others) who want to share their memories and experiences of the Vietnam War and the Vietnam War era.  All of the interviews are conducted by current Dartmouth students.  The interviews are recorded and transcribed, and both the audiofiles and the transcripts are made accessible to the public via the DVP website.

Here’s how it works: student participants will apply in the spring term (typically during sophomore year).  Students who are accepted into the program will commit to work for the program for the summer term and for one additional term (chosen by the student) during the following academic year.  During the summer, all student participants will attend a series of six training workshops on various aspects of the art of oral history interviewing.  At the end of the summer, after this training is complete, each student will complete one oral history interview with an individual selected by the project leaders.  Then, during the second term of work, student participants will conduct up to five additional oral history interviews; the individuals to be interviewed in the second term will be chosen by the student, from the available pool of volunteer interviewees, in consultation with the project leaders.

All student participants will receive a stipend for their work during the summer term.  For their second term of work, the student may choose either to receive Independent Study (ISP) credit, or to receive a stipend.  If the student selects the ISP option, he/she must work with a faculty advisor to design a research project organized around the interviews that he/she will conduct.

Interested?  Go to the DVP website and click on the “How to Participate” link for more info.

The Director of the Dartmouth Vietnam Project in 2014-2015 is Professor Edward Miller.  Applications for the 2015-2016 cycle of the project will be accepted during the spring 2015 term.