Foreign Affairs Oral History Collection
"The Association's oral histories . . . provide scholars with a valuable tool for the study of U.S. diplomacy."
— Lee H. Hamilton, former Chairman, U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee
With the inauguration of the
"Frontline Diplomacy" Foreign Affairs Oral History Program collection on the Library of Congress' webiste,
American Memory, the website of ADST is in the process of being updated. [February 2007] For those interested in the oral history collection ADST is continuing to interview and edit new oral histories. These will be sent to the Library of Congress periodically. In the meantime these completed transcripts can be obtained from ADST. ADST is updating its collection of Country Readers. These readers consist of assembling accounts of service in a country, or dealing with it from Washington, in rough chronological order, to enable those intersted in a particular country, the experiences of American diplomats in a changing world. The Collection 
United
States diplomats played a major role in world affairs during the second
half of the twentieth century. The official written record they left is
gradually being released 25–30 years after the fact by the Department
of State, but the motivations, critiques, personal analyses, and private
thoughts of those who worked in the diplomatic arena are not included.
These views are crucially important if we are to understand the full story
of the struggle for world peace and protection of U.S. interests and values.
Now a collection of interviews with these diplomats has captured this
period in vivid terms and intimate detail, documenting the way U.S. diplomacy
defends Americans and their interests in a changing world.
Since 1986, the Foreign Affairs Oral History Program
of the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training (ADST) has
recorded more than 1500 interviews with former participants in the U.S.
foreign affairs process. About 80 new interviews are added each year. The
series also contains some significant oral histories dealing with American
diplomacy which were provided by universities and presidential libraries.
The oral history collection has become one of the largest in the country
on any subject and the most significant on foreign affairs. It is unclassified
and available to the public.
How to See It
Printed
copies of individual histories are at the National Foreign Affairs Training
Center in two locations: the Foreign Service Institute's Stephen Low Library
and the ADST offices, both located at the Center's campus at
4000 Arlington Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia.
They also may be examined at the Special Collections Room of Georgetown
University's Lauinger Library in Washington, D.C. Both printed and diskette
(MAC and PC) copies of individual histories may be purchased from ADST
(contact
us).
The first CD-ROM (PC only) version of the collection was published in 2001. The CD-ROM contains 893 individual histories, including several published with permission from presidential libraries, plus 48 country readers (each a compilation of materials from all the histories relating to a specific country), a sophisticated search engine, and highlighting, note-taking, and print-out software.
The Contents
The foreign affairs oral histories capture for public use the knowledge, direct experience and perspectives of many whose stories are otherwise not recorded. Their detailed accounts of the making and implementing of foreign policy, the contexts, and the personalities involved give insights and provide information often not found in official documents or in memoirs and histories published elsewhere.
The earliest material in the oral histories dates back
to the 1920s. Through new interviews the collection is continually updated
to the present day. U.S. relations with almost every country in the world
are mentioned in one way or another. Subjects
range from the great events of history to the tedium of everyday struggles
to achieve American objectives. The interviews also present a picture of
specialized activities abroad, for example the work of labor officers, economic
development and assistance (AID series), public diplomacy (USIA) and consular
activities. This last contains personal views of the U.S. consular officials
who assist U.S. citizens abroad and deal with problems of immigration. The
interviews also include a Women Ambassadors Series that was developed from
a sociological perspective. About 150 "spouse histories" are available.
The country readers consist of relevant excerpts from individual oral history interviews arranged approximately in chronological order. These readers are designed to give a user an overview of American relations with a country as seen by those who served there or dealt with it from Washington. They offer unique insights over decades but do not necessarily provide full chronological continuity.
The Process
Retired Foreign Service officers conduct most of the
interviews, which are all tape-recorded and take as many two-hour sessions
as necessary -- typically from one to ten sessions. The interviews are frank;
the participants and interviewers discuss the diplomatic process in any
of over one hundred countries, including problems, failures and accomplishments.
The role of personalities, foreign and domestic, is woven into these personal
narratives.
Transcripts of the tapes are returned to each interviewee for review and correction before they are made available to the public. Interviewees include career and noncareer diplomats, Foreign Service and Civil Service personnel from agencies such as the Department of State, USAID, USIA, Treasury, Agriculture, Labor, Commerce and Congress, spouses, and some military officers. Plans have been made to expand the interviewee list to include persons who have served with the Defense Department, congressional committees dealing with foreign relations, and private companies and other nongovernmental organizations that have played a role in United States foreign relations since World War II.
Financial Support
The oral history program is supported by financial contributions from ADST members, private donors, foundations and the many volunteers who interview and record, transcribe and edit the histories and create their tables of contents. The country readers are compiled by college interns and Foreign Service retirees.
Comments
Comments on the Oral History Program are welcome and should be addressed to:
Director, Foreign Affairs
Oral History Program
Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training
Tel: 703-302-7335; Fax: 703-302-6799 or
e-mail stukennedy@verizon.net
Mailing
address: ADST c/o Bentley, 2814 N. Underwood St., Arlington, VA 22213
ADST Location: NFATC / Foreign Service Institute 4000 Arlington Blvd., Arlington, Virginia Tel: 703-302-6990; Fax: 703-302-6799 Mailing address: ADST c/o Bentley, 2814 N. Underwood St., Arlington, VA 22213 Copyright © 2007, Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training |