Student Lesson: WPA Federal Writers' Project

Assignment Goals:

• Learn about different ways to record and write oral history;
• Gain an appreciation for the diversity of American culture and experiences; and
• Learn about the purposes for and accomplishments of the Federal Writers' Project.

Resources Used:

American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project: 1936-1940

This collection includes:

• information on the WPA and its Federal Writers' Project;
• 2900 documents from 24 different states;
• transcriptions and page images of original manuscripts;
• "life histories" written by WPA- employed writers which offer information on American religions, occupations, folktales, and diversity between 1936-40.

Assignment Components:

Use the Special Presentation, "Voices from the 1930s: An Introduction to the WPA Life Histories Collection," to answer the following questions.

1. "Introduction" Section
   1. How many people did the WPA put to work?
   2. How many people worked for the Writers' Project and how much did they make per week?
   3. Identify two notable writers who were involved.
   4. What did writers write during the early years of the project?
   5. When did the Writers Project come to a halt and why?
   6. What did B.A. Botkin see as the purpose of assembling life histories?
   7. Identify two works of fiction based on life histories.
   8. How did interviewers record their data?
   9. What is the connection between Invisible Man and the life histories?
   10. What instruction did Botkin give to writers about the process of conducting interviews?
   11. What helped bond interviewers to their subjects?

2. "Interview Excerpts" Section

   Choose two of the listed topics:

   • All in a Day's Work: Industrial Lore
   • Rank and File
   • Hard Times in the City: Testifying
   • Making Do: Women and Work

   Each has three separate excerpts from longer life histories related to the topic which you should read. After reading the excerpts, answer the following question:

   What significant information did I learn about each of the topics?
   (Identify at least two things for each topic.)

   Info:	Topic One:	Topic Two:
   1
   2

Part Two: Using the collection to learn about oral and American history (15 points)

Search American Life Histories, 1936-1940 (http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/wpahome.html) to find life histories for the following categories:

1. Best Capturing of Subject's Speech Patterns / Dialect
   Title:

   
   Reason Chosen:

    

    

2. Life History Mentioning a Significant National Event
   Title:

   
   Reason Chosen:

    

    

3. Most Interesting Person Interviewed for a Life History
   Title:

   
   Reason Chosen:

    

    

4. Best Written Life History (style, language, etc)
   Title:

   
   Reason Chosen:

    

    

5. Most Unusual Job / Work Description
   Title:

   
   Reason Chosen:

    

    

6. Most Interesting Life History Involving a Minority (Group or Person)
   Title:

   
   Reason Chosen: