July, 2011
“All History is Personal:” August 1961
The year 1961 was eventful for several reasons. It marked the centennial of the Civil War, the first manned space flights, the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba, and the inauguration of John F. Kennedy, among other events. In August, 1961, my father, then a captain in the United States Army, was sent on temporary duty from his post in …
July 24, 2011 Sunday at 8:38 pm
The Reliability of Oral Histories–The Forensic Approach to Evaluation
Part 2 of a three-part series. Part 1 is here. When last we met, we explored the issues associated with the reliability of “eyewitness testimony” in court and applied similar concepts to first-person accounts of historical and genealogical events. We discovered several issues that might make “eyewitness testimony” unreliable. Now we explore the 21st century approach to eyewitness testimony and …
July 13, 2011 Wednesday at 6:32 pm
The Reliability of Oral Histories Considered
[Music; loud with fast, heavy beat] [Baritone voice with emergency pace and tone]:“Eyewitness News! The [Valley's][Metroplex's][Tri-State Area's][Ark-La-Tex's][Bay Area's][Central Coast's][Middle Tennessee's] Most Reliable Newscast! With the entire Eyewitness News Team! This is Eyewitness News at Six [o'clock]!” That voicer (or words and music to that effect) has been heard on television stations all over America at one time or another in …
July 11, 2011 Monday at 10:18 pm
