Making Connections at #OHA2016

In the words of our very own Troy Reeves, the OHA Annual Meeting offers a “yearly dose of sanity.” Whether you’re reading this while waiting for one of the panels to start, sitting this one out, or reflecting back on the excitement of the meeting later, we want to bring you a little taste of the fun. Below you can hear from a handful of oral historians on why they love the OHA Annual Meeting, as well as a look at social media activity during the conference. Follow along with live updates from our man-on-the-ground, Mark Garcia on Twitter and Facebook.

Why do Teresa Bergen and Jeff Corrigan love the annual meeting? Because of the connections!

#OHA2016 Tweets

“As a transcriptionist, I treasure the opportunity to contribute to the greater communal effort to preserve history — especially the voices of ordinary people. The OHA is composed of members with that same mission. Going to the annual meeting gives me the chance to connect with them and learn about their current projects. I’m especially interested in the ways that oral historians get their interviews out of the scholarly archives and into the ears of the general public.”

Troy Reeves and Allison Tracey see the annual meeting as a way of getting pumped up to continue doing the hard work of oral history every year.

For Christian Lopez, the annual meeting is all about sharing, and coming together to move forward.

The Annual Meeting is great for building connections, but so is oral history broadly. It’s all about bringing together the past and the present in unique and interesting ways.

“I love oral history because it unveils the hidden treasures of times past—those nuggets packed away in people’s memories, in their remembrances—and then layers them with beliefs, feelings, and perspectives so hard to capture in the written word.”

David Caruso

“I love oral history because it makes me feel more intimately connected with voices from the past.”

Andrew Shaffer (that’s me!)

Make sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, or Google+, or take a look back at the excitement from years past with our recaps of the 2014 Annual Meeting and a look at the top #TwitterDebates from last year.