Virtual Meeting, Oral History Community of Practice

The New Jersey Council for the Humanities hosts quarterly meetings of the community of practice for oral historians and community storytellers. These virtual sessions will be provided as a platform for oral historians and community storytellers to share their experiences, build a collective knowledge base for learning from each other’s practices, and connect with each other and NJCH. Through discussions moderated by the group facilitators and NJCH staff, the sessions will provide an opportunity to network with other New Jersey oral historians and community storytellers, share challenges and successes of working in the state, and discuss what oral history and community storytelling could look like as we move into the future.

The past several decades have seen the rapid growth of oral history from a subfield of traditional history into one of the most publicly-visible and prominent methods of public historical practice, a practice which is continually evolving as technology changes. For our first group meeting of the year, group facilitators will invite participants to share their experiences and knowledge to collectively explore the newness of oral history from multiple perspectives, with special focus on the question: Why does oral history constantly feel new, even to practitioners who’ve been doing it for a long time?

If you require accessibility services, please contact Sylvester Cruz, NJCH Grants and Partnerships Coordinator: scruz@njhumanities.org. The deadline to request accessibility services is February 28. Please RSVP using the Zoom link below.

Joining the COP: If you are interested in joining one of NJCH’s Communities of Practice, please complete the COP Interest Form at https://njhumanities.org/programs/in-the-weeds/#cop.

Virtual registration link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/RbW04DOnRyqRMhkc4WqQAQ