2004 Oral History Association Annual Meeting
Portland, Oregon
September 29 - October 3, 2004

"Telling Stories: Narratives of Our Own Times"

The Oral History Association invites proposals for papers and presentations for its 2004 annual meeting to be held September 29-October 3, 2004, at the Hilton & Executive Tower, Portland, Oregon.

"Telling Stories," the conference theme, invokes both the practice of oral history and the unique ability of oral history to capture stories that are especially revealing and meaningful. The present historical moment lends an especial urgency to this call. War in Iraq, the attacks on the World Trade Center, the Seattle protests over the World Trade Organization, the enormity and significance of these events, and many others, urge us to record and interpret the narratives of our own times, not only the cataclysmic events at the turn of the twenty-first century, but also the sweep of the twentieth century that lies within living memory. While recent events suggest histories of conflict, change and rupture, the practice of oral history offers the possibility of bridging differences, finding commonalities, and tracing continuity. Turning lives into stories can help individuals and communities negotiate wrenching social and economic changes and undermine hierarchies of power and dominance. We are eager for presenters to help set an agenda for the myriad of stories of our times that need to be recorded and suggest new ways of preserving and disseminating them.

We invite proposals that examine narratives that are meaningful at local, regional, national, and international levels. Among the topics for which we invite proposals are:

• globalization, new forms of labor, and the changing nature of work, education, and knowledge
• the building of, and conflicts surrounding, imperial states, past and present
• transformations of local economies, cultures, and environments
• migrations: local, regional, national, and international
• new forms of social and political protest, including antiwar movements
• farm labor, culture and agriculture
• the relationship of the arts to social, political, and cultural changes
• corporate behavior and misbehavior, and the responsibility of business to civic and public life
• new diseases and crises of health and safety.

We also invite proposals for presentations that reflect on the process of oral history:

• how narratives of democracy and dissent shape political practice
• how telling stories across generations creates a usable past
• how oral history reveals the connections between seemingly unrelated populations and processes
• the role of emotion in oral history, including humor and irony, pain and trauma
• the theoretical and methodological issues involved in recording an oral history of events as they unfold.

The conference location in the Pacific Northwest and on the Pacific Rim offers an opportunity to examine issues of particular regional significance, including:

• the histories, cultures, and struggles of the region's native peoples
• local and regional industries, from logging to high tech to wine-making
• land, water, and the environment
• local and regional variations on protest movements, including environmentalism
• regional developments in art, music, and culture
• the connections between the United States and Asia.

We invite proposals from oral history practitioners in a wide variety of disciplines and settings, as we hope to bring together scholars, teachers, students, museum professionals, public historians, activists, filmmakers, radio documentarians, photographers, and journalists. While sessions may be organized in the customary panel format, we also encourage proposals for workshops, poster sessions, media and performance-oriented sessions, off-site sessions, and formats other than conventional conference presentations.

Proposals: Submit five copies of the proposal. For full sessions, submit a title, a session abstract of not more than two pages, and a one-page vita or resume for each participant. For individual proposals, submit a one-page abstract and a one-page vita or resume of the presenter. Each submission must be accompanied by a cover sheet, which can be printed from the OHA web site: www.dickinson.edu/oha.

Proposals must be postmarked by January 15, 2004. They may be submitted by mail or fax. No email attachments will be accepted. Submit proposal directly to the OHA office (see below).

Queries may be directed to the Program Co-Chairs:

Lu Ann Jones
Department of History
Brewster A-315
East Carolina University
Greenville, NC 27858
Phone: 252-328-1025
joneslu@mail.ecu.edu

Kathryn Nasstrom
Department of History
University of San Francisco
2130 Fulton St.
San Francisco, CA 94117-1080
Phone: 415-422-6074
nasstromk@usfca.edu

Proposals should be sent by January 15, 2004 to the address below.

For UPS or FEDEX:Add the following:
Holland Union Building
College and Louther Sts.