Our Mission
Practice interviews at a COHP oral history workshop, Dec. 5, 2009
Founded in 2008, The Citadel Oral History Program seeks to deepen understanding of the Lowcountry’s rich history and culture through the gathering and presentation of recorded memories from area residents.
The Program has three main objectives:
1. Program staff and their associates conduct interviews with people from all walks of life in order to promote the study of The College and the region. The resulting recordings and transcriptions are made available to the public as part of The Citadel Oral History Program Collection at the Citadel Archives and Museum and select interviews are made available through this website.
2. Through regular course offerings and independent research projects, COHP provides opportunities for students to experience the challenges and rewards of conducting and preserving oral history interviews.
3. In the interest of promoting best practices in oral history research, COHP offers training through community workshops and consultations. The COHP is also among the founding organizations of the Lowcountry Oral History Alliance, a regional group that promotes oral history research.
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Current Research Projects
Working Charleston
On the job at the Carolina First Arena
An endless stream of visitors pours into Charleston each day to marvel at the historic mansions South of Broad, the unique single houses, and charming freedman’s cottages. With as much regularity, cargo flows in and out of the Port of Charleston, linking the “Holy City” and Lowcountry region to communities across the globe. Largely hidden from the tourists’ eyes, however, are the people who have built and continue to build Charleston through their skill, hard work, and their individual and collective struggles for justice at the workplace. Working Charleston documents the on and off the job experiences of the longshoremen and lawyers, the bartenders and carriage drivers, hospital aides and high tech workers who make Charleston among the nation’s prime tourist destinations and vital centers of global trade.
The Citadel in War and Peace
First Charleston Pass, 1943
The Citadel prides itself on producing principled and ethical leaders for the military, as well as in business and civic affairs. The Citadel in War and Peace traces the life histories and career trajectories of alumni, staff, and faculty to better understand the university’s multifaceted contributions to the U.S. military and its continuing impact on the business and politics of South Carolina and the nation. An initial series of interviews focuses on Citadel alumni who served in World War II. It spotlights their combat experiences and recounts their return to civilian life and subsequent professional careers.
Charleston and the Long Civil Rights Movement
Coretta Scott King in Charleston, May 1969
Modern day Charleston has been shaped profoundly by the 1960s African American and women’s liberation movements, the Vietnam War, suburbanization, natural disasters, and the conservative revival. Charleston and the Long Civil Rights Movement explores the continuously unfolding legacies of these movement through interviews with area grassroots political activists, public officials, community leaders, historians, and cultural workers.
