Examines a historian's experiences and impressions gained while interviewing the immigrant generation in a community of Jewish chicken farmers in Petaluma, California. Information is presented on the differences in attitudes and aspirations between generations, interview techniques, problems of interviewer credibility, and problems of…

Describes a university undergraduate course in community studies which was taught through an historical, geographical, and sociological approach using primary sources and research techniques. (KC)

Senior citizens recall what it was like living in the West during the late 19th and early 20th centuries in this Foxfire magazine, written and published by high school students. At the heart of the Foxfire idea is the conviction that students can learn about their community and humanity only outside the classroom. The magazine is an example of…

Essays in this special issue of the "Journal of Family History" focus on the teaching of family history by using artifacts. The articles were written by the staff at Old Sturbridge Village (OSV). The first article discusses how family history is taught at OSV. Students study a real family using demographic information and artifacts such as…

Examines the pitfalls and obstacles of applying a professional historian's standards to the practice of writing and researching local history. These include unreliable and incomplete records as well as sponsoring agencies that prefer sanitized legends to historical accuracy. Nonetheless, praises local history as a rich resource and recommends…

The major aim of the Manchester Studies Unit, based at Manchester Polytechnic in the north of England, is to preserve, research, and make available the popular history of the Manchester region. How this project has used oral history within community projects is described. (RM)

Reports that students from fourth and fifth grades, along with middle and advanced history students acting as mentors, planned and executed a five-month historical research field project. Student research teams carried out at a local site a two-week archaeological dig uncovering artifacts and discovering how their predecessors lived. (NL)