The past is often reconstructed through public records, photographs, statistical data, letters, diaries, published and other historical materials. However, it doesn’t always help us understand how individuals and communities experienced the forces of history.
Oral histories bring depth to our understanding of the past by giving weight to individuals’ experiences. It is difficult to describe exactly what oral histories are, because they can take the shape of rehearsed accounts of the past, informal conversations among family members, compilations of stories told by people about the past and recorded interviews with individuals.
We have compiled a few oral history collections on Asian diasporic populations compiled by academics and historians as well as some by community members who have engaged in cultural preservation work as interviewers, transcribers and archivists.
This is by no means an exhaustive list, so search for community-specific oral history collections you may be interested in exploring!
The South Asian Oral History Project (SAOHP) at the University of Washington Libraries
- Records pan-South Asian immigrant experiences in the Pacific Northwest using the medium of oral history
- Conducted in four phases with each phase marked by key historical events that drew South Asians to the United States such as the end of World War II, the partition of India and Pakistan, the opening of U.S. immigration laws in 1965 and the growth of key technology industries in the Pacific Northwest
- Makes the historical resources/material available to everyone on its website
Dragon Fruit Project: An Intergenerational API LGBTQ Oral History Project
- Explores queer Asian and Pacific Islanders and their experiences with love and activism in the 1960s, 70s, 80s, and 90s.
- Initiated by historian Amy Sueyoshi, who recognized that there is an abundance of lessons to learn from older generations of LGBTQ API people, but that their stories weren’t being recorded
- Contains biographies of interviewees, quotes and transcripts, audio recordings of interviews, compilations of art and zines, and resources for LGBTQ API people
The UCI Libraries Southeast Asian Archive
- Collects material documenting the history of the Cambodian, Hmong, Laotian, and Vietnamese diaspora
- Includes Southeast Asian American experiences of resettlement and community formations since the Vietnam War, Cambodian Genocide, and the geopolitical turmoil in the formerly French-occupied “Indochina” in the latter half of the 20th century
- Contains multiple digital collections of audio/video oral histories, photos and exhibits
DePaul University Asian American Art Oral History Project
- Collects oral histories of Asian American artists and organizers and participants of Asian American arts and cultural organizations
- Documents the history of Midwestern Asian American artists and art organizations
- Contains interviews of artists and transcripts, and a gallery of artwork
Additional Resources
- Disability Visibility Project — Asian Pacific Americans with Disabilities: Our stories, Our Lives
- Compilation of South Asian Diaspora Oral Histories (NYU)
- Duke University Libraries Oral Histories of Asian Americans
- Chinese American Women in New England: From Exclusion to Empowerment (Harvard)
- Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center: Korean American Oral Histories
- UC San Diego Race and Oral History Project
Sources
[1] “Understanding oral history: Why do it?” Baylor University Institute for Oral History. 2012.
[2] “What is Oral History?” History Matters, George Mason University.
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AZI Media is a multimedia company dedicated to fostering conversations through storytelling for Asian Americans by Asian Americans. This post (and more) can also be found on our Instagram and Facebook.
Written by Niveda Tennety. Illustration by Susu Schwaber.
