What you find here are general topics given per decade. It will be important for you to find something more specific within that topic. For example, says Mrs. Schulze, if students choose "World War II, they can use me as someone who was a child then, my aunt as someone who was a teenager then, my uncle as a wounded veteran, and we have people in town who were 'Rosie the Riveter' types, guards at the prisoner of war camp, and prisoners of war in Germany etc." To some degree, the life and experiences of the person you interview will help you make your decision.

You almost always have to begin with the person you'll interview.

• The Dust Bowl
• The Great Depression
• Migrant Farm Workers

• World War II
  • Prisoners of War
  • The Holocaust
  • Internment Camps (Japanese Americans)
  • Women at Home
  • Women in War
  • Women in factories/working
  • Rationing
  • Reconstruction

• The Korean Conflict
• The Cold War
  • Civil Defense: Fallout shelters
• Desegregation
  • Bussing
• The Kohler Strike
• The Red Scare
  • McCarthy hearings
• The Space Race
• GI Bill

• The Vietnam War
  • The selective service
  • Anti-war movement
  • Kent State University
• The Counter Culture
  • Woodstock & other music festivals
  • Communal living
• The Civil Rights Movement/Civil Rights Act
• The Ecology Movement/Rachel Carson's Silent Spring published
• The Peace Corps
• Bay of Pigs Invasion/Cuban Missile Crisis
• Assassination of President Kennedy
• President Johnson's Great Society
• Migrant Farm Workers

• The Women's Movement
• The Oil Embargo
  • The Energy Crisis
• Affirmative Action
• Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act
• The New York City Blackout
• Nuclear Power
  • Three Mile Island

• The Persian Gulf War: Desert Storm
• The Challenger Shuttle Disaster (1986)
• Oklahoma City Bombing
• Shooting at Columbine High School
• Technology
  • Personal computer revolution
  • Internet

• September 11 attacks
• Iraq War
• War in Afghanistan
• Indonesian Tsunami
• Hurricane Katrina

Other

Topics are not limited to these suggestions. In the past, students have generated interesting topics based on the experience of a person they know. For example, one group researched the genocide in Rwanda because one student's uncle worked with refugees and knew others who could be interviewed. It turned out very well. Think about who you know, or who your parents know and what experiences they have to share.