What We Are
The Listening Project is a collaboration between OU students, faculty, alumni, and Oklahoma community members to memorialize the myriad histories of OU and of local communities.
The stories of individual Oklahomans and their communities are what make this place great; oral history interviews document these stories for posterity and foster appreciation for the diversity of experiences and events that constitute OU.
Shaped by a philosophy of community-centered archiving, the project seeks specifically to empower communities (of OU stakeholders and those living in local Oklahoma communities) in the process of preserving their own histories.
What We Do
There are two main goals of The Listening Project:
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To train student and faculty interviewers to work with discrete communities throughout the state and further afield to document their own histories or events.
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To document the history of the university and surrounds, as well as of its various stakeholders, including students, alumni, faculty, staff, and concerned community members.
Faculty mentors, OU Honors students, and Undergraduate Researchers trained in oral history methodology, ethics, and techniques conduct oral history interviews, which are made available online and through the digital collections of various local stakeholders. The Listening Project enables course-based and extracurricular research experiences for students including: using the university archives, conducting and preserving interviews, presenting at conferences, and publishing their findings.
Who We Are
Dr. Andreana Prichard has been working in oral history since 2007. As an historian, her first two books relied heavily on a mix of oral historical methodologies and more traditional archival methodologies. In 2023, Prichard founded The Listening Project.
Shaped by a philosophy of community-centered archiving, TLP engages communities and organizations in the process of recording and preserving their own histories, and makes that data available to the narrators themselves and often to the public and to researchers. TLP believes oral history is not primarily about information gathering but that it is an act of translation and of co-creation of knowledge based on life experiences.
TLP projects develop and move "at the speed of trust," empowering the narrator and securing their power and protection.
OUR LOGO
This logo elegantly intertwines the rich heritage of Oklahoma with the power of storytelling. The scissor-tailed flycatcher, a symbol of Oklahoma’s natural beauty, soars above a vintage microphone, representing the preservation and sharing of oral histories.
The surrounding plants, gently growing upward, embody the journey of discovering one’s roots and ancestry, highlighting the connection between past and present. Together, these elements create a harmonious emblem that celebrates both the regional identity and the timeless tradition of passing down stories through generations.
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