Oral Historeis of Sharp LeadenHall: Notes
On June 22, 2012, students from a National Science Foundation funded “research experience for undergraduates grant at Towson University entitled “Anthropology by the Wire” conducted ‘Oral Histories of Sharp Leadenhall’ at St. Stephen and James Church. Led by Dr. Matt Durington of Towson University and Mr. Thomas Gillard, a former resident of Sharp Leadenhall and an unofficial historian of the neighborhood, the task of that day was two folds: first, to record an oral history of Sharp Leadenhall, and second, to make an audio documentary. An audio documentary specialist Dr. Elsa Lankford of Towson University assigned students with audio documenting techniques and other audio related materials. Dr. Durington provided basic questions for our interviews and encouraged or reminded us to utilize 'semi-structured questions' in our interviews. Students were divided into teams of two or three students, and each team was assigned to a former or current resident of Sharp Leadenhall. We, Samantha Adamson and I, Lian Thang, were assigned to Mary Kennedy, a current resident of Sharp Leadenhall. In trying to avoid the various loud noises, we recorded our session in a dining room of the Church. The session lasted over 35 minutes of audio recording. After the recording session, students and participants were treated with sandwiches from Panera. Then, we departed.