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Still more Veterans Day stuff

In honor of Veterans Day, I would like to throw out a plug for the Veterans History Project sponsored by the Library of Congress and the AARP. Not unlike the WPA Folklore Project of the 1930s, this is a major effort to collect the life histories of veterans and others whose lives were marked by the wars of the 20th century. The interviews (ideally recorded on digital video) are archived at the LOC for future use.

This is something of an "open source" project, with training and support materials being available on line, via participating AARP offices, and through many local groups and organizations. Here at Northern Kentucky University, one of our history majors, Elizabeth Comer (Graduate Admissions folks take note, she will be headed to some lucky grad school next fall) has almost single-handedly organized a group of students to provide training and undertake interviews.

This is a truly unique opportunity for students at the University (and even High School) level to DO history, not just study it -- and I recommend that interested faculty take time to look into the project and give serious thought to establishing or encouraging a local program.

Posted on Thursday, November 11, 2004 at 9:03 PM | Comments (0) | Return

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