“I Hope to be Part of South Phoenix History”: Community College Students Becoming Oral Historians

ABSTRACT

This paper discusses community college students’ responses to an oral history project about their own community, based in South Phoenix, Arizona. The South Phoenix Oral History (SPOH) Project is a research initiative operated by students, the vast majority of whom call South Phoenix home. Students take part in recording, processing, and analyzing their hometown history, making coauthorship a built-in feature of the project. Research shows that oral history teaches students to do research and to do history, but can academy-based projects have a positive impact on community interests? What do students learn through oral history besides research skills? To conduct this study, I analyzed data from seventy-three student reflections dating from fall 2018 to spring 2021. The reflections illuminate how students become more aware of their role in creating historical narratives and deepen their bond with their own community and its history. I argue that oral history projects, such as the SPOH Project, which implement a shared authority method, can productively combine community interests with academic research. By giving their contribution to the collection, students deepened their connection and sense of responsibility to South Phoenix and its history.

KEYWORDS:

• Community college
• community engagement
• oral history in the classroom
• Phoenix
• AZ
• shared authority

Acknowledgements

My gratitude goes to the OHR’s editors and anonymous reviewers for their editorial input. A heartfelt thank-you goes to Summer Cherland for her enthusiasm and mentorship. This research would not have been possible without her kind support and energy. Thank-you to Farina King, Sach Takayasu, and Francine D. Spang-Willis for your advice, encouragement, and friendship. A warm thank-you also goes to SMCC students who provided food for thought through their reflection statements and original research. Financial support for this article was provided by Innovation Grant funding from the Office of the Vice President of Learning at South Mountain Community College.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

^1. Richard Morales, interviewed by Max Doll and Emanuel Parada, November 1, 2018. Except where otherwise noted, all oral history interviews were conducted at South Mountain Community College Library, as part of the South Phoenix Oral History Project of South Mountain Community College. Digital audio and video recordings and indexes are located in the archives of the South Phoenix Oral History Project; see https://southphoenixoralhistory.com/narrators/.

^2. Paul Elsner, interviewed by Summer Cherland, Travis May, and Liz Warren, December 14, 2018, Elsner’s home in Prescott, Arizona, South Phoenix Oral History Project.

^3. Elsner interview.

^4. As a postgraduate researcher researching the project remotely, my role mainly entails conducting research within the archive, as well as assisting in the cataloging and curating efforts.

^5. There are a number of works on the history of South Phoenix; see Bradford Luckingham, “Urban Development in Arizona: The Rise of Phoenix,” Journal of Arizona History 22 (Summer 1981): 197-234; Alex P. Oberle and Daniel D. Arreola, “Resurgent Mexican Phoenix,” Geographical Review 98 (April 2008): 171-196; “Establishing a Community: 1890-1900,” Hispanic Historic Property Survey, Historic Context: 13-26; Mary E. Gill and John S. Goff, “Joseph H. Kibbey and School Segregation in Arizona,” Journal of Arizona History 21, no. 4 (Winter 1980): 411-422; Shirley J. Roberts, “Minority-Group Poverty in Phoenix,” Journal of Arizona History 14 (Winter 1973): 347-362; Kaila White, “Did Phoenix Ever Segregate Where Minorities Could Live? Find Out with Valley 101 Podcast,” Arizona Republic, June 10, 2019, https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2019/06/10/valley-101-podcast-phoenix-history-redlining-and-segregation/1230052001/ (accessed August 21, 2020); Bradford Luckingham, Minorities in Phoenix: A Profile of Mexican American, Chinese American, and African American Communities, 1860-1992 (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2015), 66-67; Matthew C. Whitaker, “The Rise of Black Phoenix: African-American Migration, Settlement and Community Development in Maricopa County, Arizona 1868-1930,” Journal of Negro History 85 (Summer 2000): 197-209.

^6. South Mountain is part of the Maricopa Community Colleges, a system of ten accredited colleges spread out across Maricopa County. The ten colleges are Chandler-Gilbert, Estrella Mountain, GateWay, Glendale, Mesa, Paradise Valley, Phoenix College, Rio Salado, Scottsdale, and South Mountain; for a map of the college locations, see Maricopa Community Colleges, “Our Colleges,” https://www.maricopa.edu/colleges (accessed January 8, 2023). Before SMCC was built, the nearest college to South Phoenix was Phoenix College, about twelve miles away. But with unpredictable weather conditions and high travel costs, traveling twelve miles daily to attend classes at Phoenix College was unrealistic for many South Phoenicians. The students who were part of the demographic that would have been attending Phoenix College were unlikely to own a car and would have needed access to public transport. Even then, through oral histories we have learned that it was complicated and exhausting to leave South Phoenix on a daily basis.

^7. J. Brett Hill et al., “The ‘Collapse’ of Cooperative Hohokam Irrigation in the Lower Salt River Valley,” Journal of the Southwest 57, no. 4 (2015): 609–611.

^8. James M. Barney and Barry M Goldwater, “Out of the Ashes: The History of the City of Phoenix” (Phoenix, AZ: City of Phoenix Public Information Office, 2008), https://www.phoenix.gov/piosite/Documents/Out%20of%20the%20Ashes.pdf.

^9. Morales interview.

^10. “The Storytelling Institute offers customized training, workshops, college course work, certificates in storytelling, and an annual calendar of innovative events”; see “About,” Storytelling Institute, South Mountain Community College, https://www.southmountaincc.edu/academics/storytelling (accessed January 8, 2023). The Storytelling Institute, as noted by its founder, Prof. Liz Warren, has one “of the few, if not the only, academic programs in storytelling based at a community college”; see “Our Story,” Storytelling Institute, SMCC, https://www.southmountaincc.edu/academics/storytelling/our-story .(accessed January 8, 2023).

^11. In terms of the level of institutional buy-in and support for SPOH from South Mountain Community College, it is important to note that faculty involved in the project promoted SPOH to campus administrators and sought funding to support the research.

^12. “South Mountain Community College: Overview,” US News and World Report, https://www.usnews.com/education/community-colleges/south-mountain-community-college-CC07896 (accessed November 22, 2021). Please note that because it is a community college, South Mountain is open to anybody; there is no enrollment restriction.

^13. In 1991, in Shared Authority, Michael Frisch discussed narrators’ prerogative to interpret their own experience, and the space their analysis should hold in public-facing works regarding their memories; Michael H. Frisch, A Shared Authority: Essays on the Craft and Meaning of Oral and Public History, SUNY Series in Oral and Public History (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1990). In following debates, practitioners began to consider how their projects might benefit from a shared authority approach—or not. Years later, in 2003, Daniel Kerr described how valuable it was to share authorship with Cleveland’s homeless community and explored ways to “explicitly bring the narrator into the process of analysis”; Daniel Kerr, “‘We Know What the Problem Is’: Using Oral History to Develop a Collaborative Analysis of Homelessness from the Bottom Up,” Oral History Review 30, no. 1 (2003): 34.

^14. Of the most relevant publications, see Robert D. Ilisevich, “Oral History in Undergraduate Research,” History Teacher 6, no. 1 (1972): 47–5; Margaret Sullivan, “Into Community Classrooms: Another Use for Oral History,” Oral History Review 2 (1974): 53–58; Michael H. Ebner, “Students as Oral Historians,” History Teacher 9, no. 2 (1976): 196–201; John Forrest and Elisabeth Jackson, “Get Real: Empowering the Student through Oral History,” Oral History Review 18, no. 1 (1990): 29–44.

^15. Please note that not all students attending classes write a reflection, as it is not mandatory.

^16. Barry M. Goldenberg, “Youth Historians in Harlem: An After-School Blueprint for History Engagement through the Historical Process,” Social Studies 107, no. 2 (March 3, 2016): 47; see also Forrest and Jackson, “Get Real”; Melencia M. Johnson and Philip B. Mason, “‘Just Talking about Life’: Using Oral Histories of the Civil Rights Movement to Encourage Classroom Dialogue on Race,” Teaching Sociology 45, no. 3 (2017): 279-89; Elizabeth Stone, “Teaching Oral History in a College-Level ‘New Wave Immigrant Literature’ Course,” Oral History Review 40, no. 2 (2013): 332-63; Glenn Whitman, “Teaching Students How to Be Historians: An Oral History Project for the Secondary School Classroom,” History Teacher 33, no. 4 (2000): 469-81.

^17. Steven S. Volk, “Empathy and Engagement: Using Avatars to Bring Students into History,” Peer Review 14, no. 3 (2012): 1.

^18. On this matter, Michael Ebner argues that oral history forces students to think about historical context and to think critically about other primary and secondary sources to construct broader arguments; Ebner, “Students as Oral Historians,” History Teacher. Robert D. Ilisevich indicated how students find footnoting and writing annotated bibliographies “pedantic,” while oral history is a much more “intellectually rewarding” exercise, and its outcomes “more individualized”; Ilisevich, “Oral History in Undergraduate Research,” History Teacher. To explore relevant analysis on how to engage students to master transferable twenty-first century workforce skills and historical research skills through oral history, see Jill Goodman Gould and Gail Gradowski, “Using Online Video Oral Histories to Engage Students in Authentic Research,” Oral History Review 41, no. 2 (2014): 341–50. For a focused discussion on research skills, see also Kathryn L. Nasstrom, Tracy E. K’Meyer, and A. Glenn Crothers, “Making Better Historians: Using Oral History and Public History to Enhance Historical Training,” forthcoming in this issue, Oral History Review 50, no. 1.

^19. All the work conducted by students for the SPOH archive is actively part of coursework. For a student enrolled in one of Cherland’s history classes, SPOH is not optional; at the same time, other SMCC students cannot participate in SPOH to earn additional credits. However, SMCC students are welcome to volunteer or work on the project through paid opportunities over the summer.

^20. Tracy K’Meyer addresses using oral history with non-history majors in Nasstrom, Kathryn L., Tracy E. K’Meyer, and A. Glenn Crothers, “Making Better Historians: Using Oral History and Public History to Enhance Historical Training,” forthcoming in this issue of the Oral History Review; see Oral History Review 50, no. 1.

^21. Ilisevich, “Oral History in Undergraduate Research,” History Teacher. However, for a more recent discussion on sense of ownership over students’ work, see Aishwarya A. Gautam, Janet H. Morford, and Sarah Joy Yockey, “On the Air: The Pedagogy of Student-Produced Radio Documentaries,” Oral History Review 42, no. 2 (2015): 311–51.

^22. A. M. D., “Student Reflection,” SPOH Project, SMCC, 2019.

^23. Willa Baum, “Many Tips to Read and Discuss with the Class,” (Berkeley, CA: Berkeley Oral History Center, 1971).

^24. For access to the training material, see Summer Cherland, “Resources,” South Phoenix Oral History Project (blog), September 3, 2020, https://southphoenixoralhistory.com/resources/.

^25. The Oral History Metadata Synchronizer (OHMS) is a web-based system created by the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History at the University of Kentucky Libraries, designed “to inexpensively and efficiently enhance access to oral history online”; OHMS: Oral History Metadata Synchronizer, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, https://www.oralhistoryonline.org/ (accessed 28 July 28, 2021). For a discussion of OHMS as a pedagogical tool, see Douglas A. Boyd, Janice W. Fernheimer, and Rachel Dixon, “Indexing as Engaging Oral History Research: Using OHMS to ‘Compose History’ in the Writing Classroom,” Oral History Review 42, no. 2 (September 1, 2015): 352–67.

^26. T. S., “Student Reflection,” SPOH Project, SMCC, 2019.

^27. E. P., “Student Reflection,” SPOH Project, SMCC, 2018.

^28. Today, curating digital oral history archives includes taking measures to avoid the potential dangers of open and wide access and protecting interviews from this “quantum leap in distribution”; see Sherna Gluck, “Reflecting on the Quantum Leap,” Oral History Review.

^29. See especially Gluck, “Reflecting on the Quantum Leap”; Mary Larson, “Steering Clear of the Rocks: A Look at the Current State of Oral History Ethics in the Digital Age,” Oral History Review 40, no. 1 (2013): 36-49; Troy Reeves, “What Do You Think You Own, or Legal/Ethical Concerns,” in Oral History in the Digital Age, eds. Doug Boyd et al. (Washington, D.C.: Institute of Museum and Library Services, 2012), http://ohda.matrix.msu.edu/2012/06/what-do-you-think-you-own/.

^30. “South Phoenix and SMCC Memories,” South Phoenix Oral History Project (blog), n.d., https://southphoenixoralhistory.com/narrators/.

^31. Choosing the audio clips to publish online is part of students’ historical analysis. They identify and suggest clips to be posted alongside the summary. Students are engaged in all aspects of the processing and curating stages of SPOH.

^32. A. G., “Student Reflection,” SPOH Project, SMCC, 2019.

^33. J. C., “Student Reflection,” SPOH Project, SMCC, 2020.

^34. E. O., “Student Reflection,” SPOH Project, SMCC, 2019.

^35. A., “Student Reflection,” SPOH Project, SMCC, 2021.

^36. Daniel Kerr, “‘We Know What the Problem Is’: Using Oral History to Develop a Collaborative Analysis of Homelessness from the Bottom Up,” Oral History Review 30, no. 1 (2003): 31–32.

^37. Coauthoring has not yet extended to the coauthorship of scholarship, presentations, articles, or public programming. However, faculty involved in SPOH do not exclude coauthoring history—beyond narrators’ biographical stories—for educational purposes in the future.

^38. SMCC Storytelling Institute and Ivonne Godinez, Origins: Celebrating 40 Years of South Mountain Community College, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGLmfSmwmCI (accessed June 29, 2021).

^39. Please note that while we kept anonymity for students’ end-of-semester reflections, as they were part of coursework assignments, Ivonne’s story was recounted during a public event, and Cristina’s for SPOH, and both have consented to share their words in this context.

^40. Cristina Godinez, interviewed by Ivonne Godinez and Summer Cherland, November 5, 2019.

^41. SMCC Storytelling Institute and Godinez.

^42. All of the following are from student reflections created as part of the SPOH project at SMCC: G. R., 2018; G. D., 2019; M. S., 2020; T. L., n.d.; N. D., 2019; D. L., 2018. A. G., 2019; M. B., 2020; J .C., 2020; I. G., 2019; F. R., n. d.; A. C., 2019; A. S., 2020; V. G., n. d.; A. V., n. d.; F. R., n. d.; M. S., n. d.

^43. P. C., “Student Reflection,” SPOH, SMCC, 2018.

^44. SMCC Storytelling Institute and Godinez.

^45. All of the following are from student reflections created as part of the SPOH Project at SMCC: G. R., 2018; E. O., 2019; N. B., n. d.; V. V., 2018; S. C., 2018; K. S., 2018; T. C., 2018; E. P., 2018.; A. G., 2019; V. G., n. d.; J. P., 2018; V. H., n. d.; A. H., n. d.

^46. M. D., “Student Reflection,” SPOH Project, SMCC, 2018.

^47. D. B., “Student Reflection,” SPOH Project, SMCC, 2020.

^48. Glenn Whitman, “Teaching Students How to Be Historians: An Oral History Project for the Secondary School Classroom,” History Teacher 33, no. 4 (2000): 469-81.

^49. A. G., “Student Reflection,” SPOH Project, SMCC, 2019.

^50. M. B., “Student Reflection,” SPOH Project, SMCC, 2020.

^51. T. L., SPOH Project, SMCC, 2019.

^52. F. R., SPOH Project, SMCC, 2019.

^53. K. S., SPOH Project, SMCC, 2018.

^54. V. V., SPOH Project, SMCC, 2018.

^55. J. Escobar et al., “Mission of South Phoenix Oral History Project,” SPOH Project, SMCC, 2018, https://southphoenixoralhistory.com/about-spohp/origins-of-spoh/.

^56. Summer Cherland, “A College ‘Down There’: Resistance, Community Control, and Higher Education in South Phoenix, 1977–1981,” Journal of Arizona History 63, no. 1 (2022): 35–73.

^57. For a thorough investigation on the relationship between higher education and civic engagement and participation see, Andrew J Perrin and Alanna Gillis, “How College Makes Citizens: Higher Education Experiences and Political Engagement,” Socius 5 (2019): 2378023119859708. See also Michael Hout, “Social and Economic Returns to College Education in the United States,” Annual Review of Sociology 38, no. 1 (2012): 379–400; KevinMilligan, Enrico Moretti, and Philip Oreopoulos, “Does Education Improve Citizenship? Evidence from the United States and the United Kingdom,” Journal of Public Economics 88, no. 9–10 (2004): 1667–95; Ernest T. Pascarella, “How College Affects Students: Ten Directions for Future Research,” Journal of College Student Development 47, no. 5 (2006): 508–20.

^58. Jon Hunner, “Historic Environment Education: Using Nearby History in Classrooms and Museums,” Public Historian 33, no. 1 (2011): 33–43; KatherinePerrotta and Chara Bohan, “‘I Hate History’: A Study of Student Engagement in Community College Undergraduate History Courses,” Journal on Excellence in College Teaching 24, no. 4 (2013): 1–4.; Elizabeth Stone, “Teaching Oral History in a College-Level ‘New Wave Immigrant Literature’ Course,” Oral History Review 40, no. 2 (2013): 332–63; Whitman, “Teaching Students How to Be Historians,” History Teacher; Kerr, “‘We Know What the Problem Is,’” Oral History Review.

^59. S. C., “Student Reflection,” SPOH Project, SMCC, 2018; L. M., “Student Reflection,” SPOH Project, SMCC, 2019.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Eleonora Anedda

Eleonora Anedda earned her master of arts in oral history at Columbia University. In her work as a postgraduate researcher for South Mountain Community College, she studies environmental and urban history, as well as oral history and pedagogy. She has consulted on several oral history projects, including the Meanings of October 27^th Oral History Project (https://october27archive.org/); Religions Texas (a project of the Institute for Diversity and Civic Life; https://diversityandciviclife.org/religions-texas); and Hear O’Washington (a project of the Washington State Jewish Historical Society; https://www.wsjhs.org/museum/jewish-life/hear-owashington.html). Her research interests also include the history of her native Sardinia, where she resides. E-mail: [email protected]