CATCHING UP THE SOUND OF HISTORY

The first subject of the oral history project will attempt to investigate and collect primary audio material that is linked with the powerful experience of population exchange of Greeks and Turks just after 1922 war.

The students will work in selected groups with each student being assigned with special tasks relating to historical research and references, investigation work on identifying the form and extent of primary material left today from that remote period of time. Some of the students of each group will work on trying to identify persons who have either primary memories or secondary knowledge from that period. They will interview them using a structured format of interview for which they will be trained initially by the instructor. The interviews will be edited, transcribed and saved on a specially assigned server or in Radyovesaire’s server.

Other groups of students may be assigned to investigate non-interview material which is also linked with that period and can help in enriching the historical experience through the power of sounds. In this category we will include: natural or other sounds (ie. Church bells in Izmir) or actual music as remembered by certain people (lullabies, rebetiko songs, Jewish songs that may refer to the period etc.).

All interviews will be transcribed and edited as separate text which together with other visual material (videos, photos, general info) can be prepared to be uploaded to a special web site of the server dedicated to the project.