Generation to Generation Project: The Living Legacy of Older Persons oral history collection
Dates
- 1979-1980
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research use.
Conditions Governing Use
The reproduction of materials in this collection may be subject to copyright restrictions. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine and satisfy copyright clearances or other case restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the collections. For more information visit the MCHC’s Rights and Permissions page.
Biographical / Historical
In the fall of 1979, under a grant from the Maryland Committee for the Humanities, an interview program was conducted among senior citizens who were part of AIM (Action in Maturity), the Senior Citizens Project of the Greater Homewood Community Corporation.
The project was based on the premise that “older persons contribute significantly to society in their later years.” According to Project Director Laura Ramsey the goals of the project were to “enhance the self worth of older people, provide a legacy, list seniors contributions to others, supplement existing data on the elderly who are independent and not living in nursing homes, and expel the myths about the elderly."
The interviews were conducted by students from Goucher College. Each interviewee was asked the same set of questions drawn from an interview questionnaire designed by nine scholars in the humanities including: Jean Baker, Chairman, History Department, Goucher College; Betty Key, Director of the Oral History Office, Maryland Historical Society; Linda Shopes, Oral Historian, Baltimore Neighborhood Heritage Project and Instructor in American Studies, UMBC.
The questions focused almost exclusively on the experiences of senior citizens. Topics include: the role of older people in interviewee's life during childhood, middle age, and as a senior citizen; recollections of the lives of senior citizens in the past; present relationships with others: young, old, and family members; general conditions of life for older people presently; society's view of older people.
Extent
81 Items : 81 oral histories
Language of Materials
English
Scope and Contents
The 81 oral histories in this collection consist of 77 interviews, along with background documents relating to the project and other materials. The interviewees hailed from the Homewood community and surrounding neighborhoods and represented a diverse demographic: single, married, widowed, divorced, male, female, apartment dwellers and homeowners, ages 60-90, and of varying ethnic and racial backgrounds.
Materials available for the interviews include audio recordings, tape indexes, newspaper and periodical clippings, biographical forms, interview evaluations, photographs and other items. Transcripts are available for twelve of the interviews.
In addition to the interviews, OH 8441 contains background documents and information on the project including newspaper clippings, programs, interviewer biographical material, photographs, and a project evaluation. OH 8438-OH 8440 are recordings of panel discussions related to the project.
- Title
- Guide to the Generation to Generation Project: The Living Legacy of Older Persons oral history collection
- Status
- In Progress
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
Revision Statements
- 2020-07-10: Manually entered into ArchivesSpace by Emily Somach.
Repository Details
Part of the H. Furlong Baldwin Library Repository
H. Furlong Baldwin Library
Maryland Center for History and Culture
610 Park Avenue
Baltimore MD 21201 United States
4106853750
specialcollections@mdhistory.org