Medical Center Archives Oral History Program: Preserving the Past and Present for the Future

Over the past year, we’ve highlighted the Medical Center Archives’ rich oral history collection of over 350 interviews spanning from the 1960s to present day. In Part 6 of this series, we revisit the previous pieces (see below) and remind readers that while this series is over, the Archives’ Oral History Program continues to grow as we add more oral histories interviews to capture the medical center’s history in the words of the individuals who witnessed and participated in that history.
 
This article outlined what an oral history is and the types of oral histories held at the Medical Center Archives.
 
This article showcased the newly redesigned and updated online exhibit, “Women in Duke Health”, which contains unique historical perspectives from women in multiple fields at Duke, many who were pioneers or “firsts” in some way in their disciplines. Collecting oral histories from the woman honored in this exhibit allowed these women the space to tell their own stories.
 
This article highlights interviews that document the experiences of Black individuals at Duke Health.
 
This article highlighted the oral history project initiated by the Department of Surgery to collect firsthand accounts and memories from people who knew Dr. David C. Sabiston in order to write a definitive biography on the former Chair of the Department of Surgery.
 
This article discussed the recent history of the Department of Medicine through the voices of its faculty in the Department of Medicine Oral History Project.
 
This article introduced a fairly new oral history project that began in 2018, which collects annual interviews with the Department of Surgery’s Chief Residents as a way to document their experiences at Duke.
 
Users can find oral history transcripts located in the Oral History Collection on MEDSpace. Oral history finding aids are located on the Archives’ Collections Listing.
 
If you have any questions about the Archives’ oral histories or any of its collections, please contact the Archives staff
 
This blog post was contributed by Medical Center Archives Assistant Director Lucy Waldrop.
oral history tools