Collections : [Center for Documentary Research and Practice]

This project consists of interviews with Russian and Tatarian mothers of three different generations, those born before 1912, those born between 1912 and 1930, and those born after 1930. The interviewees talk about the change in norms and acceptance regarding motherhood due to wars and government changes. Topics discussed include motherhood, reproduction, infant and child mortality, courtship and marriage, fertility and abortion, prenatal care, maternity homes, maternity leave, and pediatric services. These interviews show how traditional practices blended with modern medical practices and ideas over the last one hundred years These interviews were used by David Ransel in his book Village Mothers "2000." The interviews have been transcribed in Russian with some English notes.

This project consists of 27 interviews on the participation of girls in athletics from the nineteen twenties through the nineteen eighties. Organizations such as the Indiana High School Athletic Organization are discussed with regard to female participation in sports. The project also explores sex roles and girls' high school sports in local communities.

This collection contains 5 interviews with 7 people conducted by John Bodnar in 1981 for the Pennsylvania State Archives oral history project "Nanticoke Women Oral History Project." The people being interviewed were born in the late 19th and early 20th century and lived in the mining towns of Nanticoke and Plymouth, Pennsylvania. These towns were involved with the coal mining unions and strikes of the 1920's and 1930's. Some of interviewees worked in the mines while others had other occupations. Of the 7 people interviewed, 6 are of Polish descent with either their parent(s) or grandparent(s) immigrating to the U.S., while the other person was born in Italy and moved to the United States at the age of 15. Among the topics brought up, there is a lot of emphasis on the strikes that went on in the 1920's and 1930's involving the United Mine Workers and the union that broke off from them, the United Anthracite Miners. Many key figures from this time are discussed including John L. Lewis, Thomas Maloney, John Fine, Judge W. A. Valentine, and Rinaldo Capellini. The interviewees discuss the impact that the strikes and politics of the coal mines had on their jobs and towns. They speak of the violence that occurred at the time including dynamite attacks, fighting during the strikes, and the assassination of Thomas Maloney, who was a president of the United Anthracite Miners.

In this project, the life and political career of Helen Gahagan Douglas are detailed in the context of her Hollywood connections and California home. Although Douglas briefly enjoyed opera and acting careers, the majority of the interviews focus on her political activities. A Democrat, she served as a representative from California in the United States House of Representatives from 1944 to 1950, before being defeated by Richard Nixon in her bid for congressional senator. In addition, Douglas' personal life and characteristics are important topics in many of the interviews.

This project is comprised of interviews regarding Homer E. Capehart and in particular, his political career as a Republican United States senator from the state of Indiana from 1944 to 1962. Often emphasized in the interviews is Capehart's organization of the Cornfield Conference in 1938 which served to rejuvenate the Republican Party in Indiana. Also much discussed is Capehart's legendary business acumen and status as a wealthy self-made man, proud of his humble origins. Many of the interviews also deal with national politics, Capehart's friends and political opponents, his impact and influence in Congress (through the Senate Banking and Currency Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee), his personal characteristics, communism, and the reasons for his unexpected defeat in 1962 at the hands of Birch E. Bayh, Jr.

This project deals with the Studebaker Plant in South Bend, Indiana primarily between the 1930's and the 1960's, when it closed. The interviewees are employees from all levels, but the majority discuss the blue-collar aspect. They primarily discuss working conditions, the Local 5 union, management, ethnicities, women, World War II and its effects, and the decline and closing of the Plant.

This project is a compilation of interviews of subjects with strong ties to and memories of Indiana University, primarily at the Bloomington campus, including former students, faculty, and staff, among others. The information spans most of the twentieth century and deals with the administrations under presidents Herman B Wells, John Ryan, Thomas Ehrlich, and Myles Brand. The project occurred in two parts. The first round of interviews was with administrators, trustees, and other high-ranking members of the university hierarchy. The second round of interviews was with senior faculty from a number of departments in the College of Arts and Sciences. The project is a survey of Indiana University's history as a whole including information about various academic departments, athletics, student organizations, campus growth, and the university's growth in the twentieth century. This project was funded by President Emeritus John Ryan.

This project contains information about local, state, national, and international economic enterprises, focusing mainly on businesses and industries located in and/or originating in the state of Indiana. Some of the industries discussed are the Indiana limestone industry, the local oil industry, coal mining, agriculture, railroads, the automobile industry, banking, insurance, steel production, and supermarkets. The local economic impact of industry and business on a community, unionization, and the workforces of each industry are also discussed.

This project is a compilation of interviews of subjects with strong ties to and memories of Indiana University, primarily at the Bloomington campus. The interviewees include former students, faculty, and staff, among others. The information contained in the interviews generally spans a little more than the first half of the twentieth century and often deals with the administrations under presidents William Lowe Bryan and Herman B Wells. The project is a survey of Indiana University's history as a whole including information about various academic departments, athletics, student organizations, campus growth, university development, living conditions, segregation and the treatment of African-Americans, the administration, and the importance of jazz at Indiana University. In addition, the impact of specific events, such as the Great Depression, World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War, and water shortages, is detailed in many of the interviews in this project.

This project interviews people living in Spencer, Indiana. The interviewees include a variety of ages and the time period of their experiences span the 1910s-1970s. The interviews include discussion of small town life and changes throughout the past sixty years. The education system, religious beliefs, and economic conditions of the town and surrounding county are discussed. Many interviewees discuss the Great Depression and its effect on the business owners and farmers of the area. Changing moral standards and generational differences are themes throughout the project.