How to Conduct Oral History Interviews with Emily P. Lawsin of FANHS

For more than 43 years, FANHS members have documented and presented oral histories in many creative ways. Join our interactive workshop and learn how you can too.This workshop begins after the Larry Itliong Day film screening of "Delano Manongs", a film which would not have been possible without oral history records.

Workshop Description

What is Oral History? How can we use oral histories to learn about families and to build a sense of community? In this introductory, interactive workshop, participants will learn strategies of how to prepare for and how to conduct an oral history interview. Using role-playing exercises, we will explore opportunities and challenges that may be encountered during an oral history interview. We will focus on how to phrase questions to get the most out of an interview. For more than 43 years, FANHS members have documented and presented oral histories in many creative, multimedia ways throughout the country. Come learn how you can too.

About the Presenter:

Emily P. Lawsin is National President Emerita of the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS). She served on the FANHS Board of Trustees from 1992-2022, and chartered the FANHS Los Angeles and FANHS Michigan Chapters. She is co-author, with Joseph A. Galura, of Filipino Women in Detroit: 1945-1955, Oral Histories from the Filipino American Oral History Project of Michigan. In 2004, she served as an oral history trainer and Senior Editor, with Dr. Joan May T. Cordova, of In Our Aunties Words: The Filipino Spirit of Hampton Roads, an intergenerational oral history book project sponsored by the FANHS Hampton Roads (Virginia) Chapter. In the 1990s, she taught Oral History Classes for the FANHS Los Angeles Chapter at the Filipino American Library. Her poetry, short stories, and essays on Filipino American women, families, and students have been published in over 30 journals, magazines, and anthologies, including Teaching About Asian Pacific Americans, The Sage Encyclopedia of Filipina/x/o American Studies, and Closer to Liberation: Pin[a/x]y Activism in Theory and Practice. For 30 years, she taught Filipino American History, Oral History Methods, and Asian American Studies at universities in California and the Midwest. She now works as the Historic Preservation Program Manager at 4Culture, a county funding agency, in her hometown of “SHE-attle”, Washington. An oral historian and spoken word performance poet, she has performed on radio and stage throughout the United States. Follow Emily on Instagram & X/Twitter: @emilylawsin www.emilylawsin.com

Cost: Free for FANHS Members, $20 for non-members (Please pay in person)

Please note: This workshop is sponsored by the San Antonio chapter of Filipino American National Historical Society. FANHS is a volunteer-run non-profit organization that depends on donations from members and friends like you. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to help the FANHS National Office, please click here: https://www.fanhs-national.org/donate and note that it is for "Emily Lawsin Oral History Workshop". If you are interested in becoming a member of FANHS, please contact the San Antonio chapter at hello@fanhssatx.org Contact: hello@fanssatx.org for any questions or accessibility needs.