The Great Depression and World War II were historical events with global implications. Common people in many parts of the world were affected by these momentous economic and political disruptions. Explore some of the effects of these global forces by writing a paper based on an oral interview with someone who lived through the Depression and/or World War II. You will become a historian as you write a paper describing how the life of a senior citizen was affected by these global events. Your paper will be published on the Shippensburg University History Department web site, as part of a group project.
Guidelines for writing the paper
A. It will probably be more interesting to interview a relative so you can learn more about your own family's history. You can conduct an interview with a relation in person or over the telephone.
B. For those without available relatives, you can interview a senior citizen living in Shippensburg. The Senior Program in the Shippensburg Community Center has agreed to allow students to meet their clients:
III. Writing the Paper
I. Finding an interview subject.
The interview subject needs to have lived through these events, but does not need to have been a direct participant in them. For example, you can interview a woman about how life changed in her community during World War II.
II. Conducting the Interview
1. Prepare for the interview by rereading the sections of your textbook and class notes on the Depression and/or World War II.
2. Make a list of questions to ask. It is best to ask questions that will give the interviewee broad latitude to answer. Avoid questions that can be answered with a simple yes or no.
3. After meeting your interview subject, explain why the class is doing the project. Have the interviewee sign the release form (see attached). Since your paper will be published on the internet, it will be necessary to have the form filled out.
4. During the interview, be sure to give the interviewee plenty of time to remember things from the past and provide a reply. Always be polite.
5. Be prepared to ask follow-up questions on the spur of the moment to gain clarification or to pursue some information that you were not expecting.
6. You may record the interview, but always take notes too. Notes can help to clarify things on tape and can be essential if the tape recorder or cassette malfunctions.
1. Try to write your paper as soon as possible after the interview while the conversation is still fresh in your mind.
2. Begin the paper with an introduction that provides background information on your interview subject and states your thesis. The thesis should give your opinion about how much the Depression and/or World War II affected the life of the interviewee.
3. The first few paragraphs in the body of the paper should describe the general circumstances surrounding the Depression and/or World War II. Use your textbook and class notes as sources.
4. The remaining paragraphs in the body of the paper should portray the effect of the Depression and/or World War II on the interview subject.
5. End with a conclusion in which you restate your thesis and explain why it is persuasive.
6. The paper should include a bibliography and citations. The interview should be included in the bibliography, but does not need to be cited in the body of the paper.
7. Quotations or ideas that you take from the texts should be acknowledged with properly formatted footnotes or in-text citations. Failure to acknowledge the source of a quote or an idea is plagiarism.
I have been interviewed by about my recollections of the Depression and/or World War II for World History II class at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania. In signing this release form, I give my permission for the interview to be used to write a paper that will be published on the Shippensburg University History Department web site.
(Signature)
(Date)