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Oral History

Contact

Special Collections

(760) 750-4312
archives@csusm.edu
Hours: by appointment

Screenshot of oral history interview with Jake Northington, from his 2019 interview.

Oral histories are one-time, never-to-be repeated guided conversations with a narrator (interviewee) and interviewer with a specific line of inquiry, usually the narrator's participation (intended or not) in an event, movement, or profession. They can also be biographical in nature. Oral histories are rich primary sources that give first-hand accounts, with reflection, from the narrator. 

CSUSM Special Collections also uses oral history as a teaching tool, with student-produced oral histories being created through internships, service learning commitments, and class embedations. 

Our recorded audio or video interviews are published, along with written transcriptions, on Voices of North County, the University Library's oral history portal. Voices is a continuously growing archive of the library's oral histories of members of our North San Diego County region. 

Each oral history also gets a finding aid entry, providing additional context to the interview, and linking the interviews to other resources in CSUSM's Special Collections and University Archives. Some oral histories may also be found in individual collections. See below for different ways to access our oral histories.

Oral History Collections and Finding Aids

Oral Histories by Community

CSUSM's oral histories have been "tagged" when an interviewee identifies with specific communities. Tags can be related to race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, profession, and more. To see oral histories related to a specific community, click the link below. Results show both the interview and the transcript. Transcripts are noted as such in the title.

  • Activists and activism (related to interviews that are of activists or contain accounts of activism)
  • Art and artists (related to individuals that create works of visual or performance art or are involved with the arts in a non-artist capacity, usually professional in nature)
  • Asian Pacific Islander Desi American experience (related to interviewees that identify as culturally or ancestrally from East, Southeast, South Asia, and/or the Pacific islands, whether they are American-born or born abroad)
  • Black experience (related to interviewees that identify as Black American, African American, or Black African)
  • Brewchive® (related to interviewees that identify as part of San Diego County's craft brewing industry and scene)
  • Community history (related broadly to members of our North San Diego County regional community)
  • CSUSM history (related to interviewees with members of Cal State San Marcos's students, alumni, staff, faculty, and administration)
  • Immigrant experience (related to interviewees that were born abroad and emigrated to the United States of America)
  • Jewish experience (related to interviewees that identify as religiously or culturally Jewish)
  • Latine experience (related to interviewees that identify as Chicano/a/x, Latino/a/e, Hispanic, Latin American, Mexican American, and/or identify as culturally or ancestrally from Latin America)
  • LGBTQIA+ experience (related to interviewees that identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and/or Asexual)
  • Native American experience (related to interviewees that identify as indigenous to North, Central, and South America)
  • Politics and governance (related to interviewees who have worked in governmental or nongovernmental capacities related to public administration and public service)
  • Veteran experience (related to interviewees who have served in the armed services, especially the military of the United States)
  • Women's experience (related to interviewees that identify as women)

Oral Histories by Project

Many of the oral history interviews found on Voices of North County have been made possible by the Ellie Johns Fund stewarded by the Library Guild of Rancho Santa Fe, which has provided funding towards internships and student workers to conduct and process oral histories, giving these CSUSM students real-world experience working in public history. Learn more about Ellie Johns here.

Additionally, the University Library's Special Collections department has collaborated with numerous partners to create and/or publish oral histories. Partnerships are listed below. Once a tag is clicked on, results can be sorted by title, creator, or date added, as shown in the screenshot below. Results show both the interview and the transcript. Transcripts are noted as such in the title.