The SOHP is now taking applications for our Spring 2025 Internship Seminar!
The Southern Oral History Program (SOHP) is currently accepting applications for our spring 2025 undergraduate internship. The SOHP’s internship program provides experiential education in the intellectual, practical, and curatorial work of oral history. Students must apply for the program; upon acceptance, they will be enrolled in HIST593 for three credit hours. In fall 2024, the internship will focus specifically on the ethics, methodology, and practical application of oral history fieldwork. The course will meet at the Center for the Study of the American South on Fridays from 10:10 am-1 pm during the spring 2024 semester.
To learn more please go here.
"You don't have to be famous for your life to be history."
These words, spoken by Nell Sigmon when she was interviewed in 1979, serve as our unofficial motto. They remind us of the extraordinary significance of ordinary lives and guide our efforts to document stories and experiences of the South.
Answering questions with oral histories
We ask questions about the American South that can only be answered through oral histories. The SOHP is committed to being a resource for anyone looking to use this original research for their own projects. Our interview database is a rich repository of accounts ranging from politicians to activists, business owners to millworkers, educators to artists.
Interview Archive
The Southern Oral History Program interview archive is available through the Southern Historical Collection in the Louis Round Wilson Special Collections Library at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.
Research Projects
We create original research and partner with interdisciplinary collaborators in advanced initiatives and strive to make our archive useful to communities from which these stories originate.
Opportunities
We enhance oral history training and education by training, supporting, and partnering with community members, students, and faculty to conduct advanced, ethical research.
Resources
We strive to make our unparalleled archive useful to communities, scholars, and practitioners worldwide. The interviews serve as primary sources for bold and compelling research.