The Critical Oral History Conference Series is a cornerstone project of the History and Public Policy Program.
Based on the methodology first pioneered by scholars James Blight, Janet Lang and colleagues, the series represents the juncture between the fields of history and public policy. Critical Oral History rests on three distinct features: declassified documents, firsthand testimony from former officials and the critical engagement of historians and policy scholars.
Declassified documents provide a level playing field on which former decision-makers, often from opposing sides during the events in question, and scholars can together ask and begin to answer questions about key moments in international history. Officials bring their lived experience and memory to the discussion, while scholars offer after-the-fact analytical perspectives grounded in the documentary record.
Critical oral history was created to bridge the gap between policymakers and academics in a way that encourages productive conversation between participants who may have read the same documents, but bring conflicting objectives to the inquiry. This dynamic is further complicated by the inclusion of former adversaries who experienced the events from opposing sides. The result is a richer, more psychologically and politically textured account of how consequential decisions were made and perceived at the time.
Now based at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, HAPP is committed to reviving and expanding the COHC Series as a central part of its mission to make the primary source record of the 20th and 21st century international history accessible to scholars, policymakers and the public - and to bring that history to bear on the policy challenges of today.