About the Collection
The SMU Oral History Projects digital collection features oral history projects conducted by students on either Dallas or SMU topics of interest.
Projects include:
Voices of SMU
The is a collaboration between the William P. Clements Department of History, SMU Libraries (SMU Archives & the Norwick Center for Digital Solutions), the Office of Engaged Learning and SMU graduate and undergraduate students. The VOSMU team interviews SMU alumni, faculty, and staff to document stories of SMU's past not always captured in the traditional archive. These interviews document the history of Texas and the United States, including transformations to higher education, the experiences of university students, and student movements. They speak to growing up in local neighborhoods as well as global cities; organizing as seminarians and student activists at SMU; and shaping churches, social ministries, and business communities in Texas and around the world upon graduation. For information on additional interviews which were not made public by request of the interviewee, please contact the SMU Archives.
Anti-Apartheid Movement in North Texas
The oral history project was conducted in 2017. Working with the and in local archives, students in Dr. Jill Kelly’s upper-level course “Oral Sources in African History” identified people at SMU and across North Texas who sought to end apartheid in South Africa by isolating it internationally with sanctions and divestment.
Oral History of the Meadows School of the Arts
The oral history project focuses broadly on the experiences of students, faculty, and staff within the Meadows school of the Arts. The project first developed from the course “Music and Ethnography,” where a student interviewed several faculty members. The project will continue to grow with future iterations of the class, and focus on the rich heritage of the Meadows School of the Arts, including music, performing arts, film and media, studio art and art history, and other areas of study.
