Students' use of Northamptonshire Black History Association archives as an inspiration to recognise, include and develop oral history as a functional methodology

Oral history is increasingly being used to research diverse areas of history, overwhelmingly of marginalized people and/or subjects underserved by traditional historical paradigms. The collaboration of Northamptonshire Black History Association (NBHA) and University of Northampton (UN) has led to the development and increasing use of oral history by students in the UN module, Special Study of Black British History with the pre-requisite of taking the Black British History module. These modules are open to both full-time university students, as well as any member of the community wishing to take these modules. The main lecturer, as well as guest lecturers from NBHA, both inform students about the nature of the archives and the use of oral history as a methodology to develop areas of local history research. This paper will simultaneously address how students from diverse backgrounds use this methodology as well as how prior experiences with education shape student conceptions of using oral history. Students have used the materials and resources developed by the NBHA as both an inspiration to methodologically employ oral history, as well as developing novel areas of research. Understanding how oral history has been, and is being used, helps students to redefine historical knowledge space to include this methodology. This paper will address how students use prior NBHA research to assist and inspire them in creating projects for their undergraduate studies regardless of prior education