Kennesaw State University Oral History Project, 1973- | Kennesaw State University Archives

The Kennesaw State University oral history project consists of seven series: the Cobb County Oral History Series (1973-2005), the Kennesaw College Oral History Series (1978-1985), the Kennesaw State University Oral History Series (1986-), the Cherokee County Oral History Series (1992), the Georgia Government Oral History Series (1998), the North Georgia Oral History Series (1998-2000), and the Cobb NAACP/Civil Rights Series (2009-2010), as well as a sub-series, HIST 4425 50th Anniversary Series, which consists of a subset of interviews within the Kennesaw State University Oral History Series (2011). Interview transcripts are available in bound volumes, digital (PDF) formats, and microfilm. They are arranged by the volume numbers assigned during the transcription process. Interview recordings may be available in sound and video formats. Sound formats include audiocassettes, microcassettes, and born-digital and digitized formats. Video formats include VHS, U-matic, and digitized formats. Researchers should check individual interview titles to determine available formats. All interview materials are arranged by series, format, and then in numerical order by the assigned volume number. All bound volumes are located in the Archives Reading Room and are arranged alphabetically by Interviewee last name.

The Cobb County Oral History Series was conducted by Thomas Scott, Professor of History at Kennesaw State University, and others, of prominent citizens of Cobb County, Georgia. The series was started in 1978 and has now been completed. The interviewees were people of various backgrounds from Cobb, Cherokee, Paulding, Bartow, Gordon, and Fulton counties. Most of the interviews were relatively brief class projects by students taking Georgia or Social and Cultural History. All transcripts in the series have been bound and placed in the archives at KSU and in the Georgia Room of the main Cobb County Library. Unless otherwise indicated transcribed interviews are typed and single-spaced.

The Kennesaw College Oral History Series consists of interviews conducted with people of various backgrounds from Cobb, Paulding, Bartow, Gordon, and Fulton counties from 1978 to 1985. The majority of the interviews were relatively brief class projects by students taking Georgia History or Social and Cultural History classes. Interview transcripts short in length were bound together as eleven "Collected interviews" volumes. The series also includes an index of volumes 1-10 of the "Collected Interviews," which was created by Angela G. Reiss.

The Kennesaw State University oral history series is a project conducted in collaboration with the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL), and the College of the Humanities and Social Sciences to collect oral histories from all past recipients of the KSU Distinguished Professor, Teaching, Scholarship and Service Awards. The interviews were conducted by Dr. Thomas Scott and Dr. Dede Yow, with transcript editing and indexing assistance by Susan Batungbacal, Josh Dix and Jan Heidrich-Rice. The sub-series, HIST 4425 50th Anniversary Series, was conducted by students in the HIST 4425 class to document people who have made significant contributions to the history of Kennesaw State University.

Interviews of other faculty and members of the KSU Foundation who have made significant contributions to Kennesaw State University are also included within this project.

The Cobb NAACP/Civil Rights Series consists of forty one oral history interviews done with a variety of people across Cobb County. The purpose of the project is to collect personal experiences of people with the Cobb County Branch and its predecessor, the Marietta Branch, of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), as well as the Civil Rights movement in Cobb County, Georgia. The series was conceived as part of the 100th anniversary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 2009. It was a joint effort between Dr. Scott’s HIST 4425 (Oral History) undergraduate class at Kennesaw State University and the Cobb County Branch of the NAACP. Students met with and interviewed subjects. Copies of the interview transcripts have been placed on deposit in the Kennesaw State University Dept. of Archives, Special Collections, and Records Management and the Georgia Room of the Central Library and the Hattie G. Wilson Library of the Cobb County Public Library System, in addition to other locations.

The Marietta Housing Authority series consists of an interview with the former executive director of the MHA, George H. Greene, to document the history of the organization.