The Oral History Centre at the University of Winnipeg.

A Proposal by Nolan Reilly, Alexander Freund, and Ingrid Botting

Table of Contents

Introduction, Vision, Mission

The Relevance of Oral History

Achievements of the Oral History Centre to Date

Benefits of the Oral History Centre Expansion

Next Steps in Operationalizing the Oral History Centre

Conclusion: Oral History "Makes for Fuller Human Beings"

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Introduction

The Oral History Centre, located in Bryce Hall at the University of Winnipeg, is an innovative and dynamic component of the Canadian History Centre at the University of Winnipeg. The Oral History Centre supports the University’s vision and priorities of accessibility, community outreach, and capacity building. It strengthens the University’s research capacities and moves them forward in dynamic and new directions through enhanced opportunities for faculty and, potentially, graduate research and teaching, innovation in audio and video digitization technologies, and a program of local and international summer institutes, workshops, and conferences. The securing of a national and international reputation for the Oral History Centre within fives years of its formal initiation is a realistic objective because it builds upon the University’s existing human and physical resources and has significant potential to attract public and private sector support.

Vision

The Oral History Centre at the University of Winnipeg strives to become a national leader and global innovator in developing excellence in oral history teaching, research and collaborative community development. In so doing, the Centre promotes oral history as a means of democratizing history and thus of working towards social justice and human rights in a globalizing world.

Mission

The Oral History Centre serves as a hub for faculty and students at the University of Winnipeg, for members of Winnipeg’s and Manitoba’s diverse communities, and for the broader national and global communities of oral history practitioners to collaboratively learn about the practice and theory of oral history, to work together on improving the quality and widening the scope of oral history research, and to develop new ways of using oral history to improve the quality of life for diverse constituencies. To achieve these goals, the Oral History Centre

• promotes interdisciplinary practice, analysis and integration of oral history into academic research and teaching, public policy, and collaborative community development.

• leverages the existing skills, expertise and resources of the History Department, the Centre for Canadian History, the Canadian Oral History Association, and related activities, to establish and promote local, national, and global campus-community partnerships.

• enhances innovative student training to develop new ways of transferring skills and knowledge in diverse settings.

• provides a gateway for Canadians to learn about global oral history practices and for the global community to learn about Canadian oral history practices and projects.

• serves as a virtual and real meeting place for oral historians from around the world.

• seeks external funding for projects of relevance to the communities within which its affiliates engage.

• promotes research projects and programs of research that are consistent with the goals of national funding agencies, such as SSHRC, which urge scholars to assess the relevance of their research in relation to non-academic communities and settings, and to develop knowledge impact strategies for their research.

• strives to develop a substantial grant-funded research program that includes scholars from across the disciplines and universities, as well as relevant partners from the public sector and community organizations.