Community School Oral History Project

The Presbyterian Historical Society (PHS) is pleased to partner with Dr. Matthew Shannon—Associate Professor of History at Emory & Henry College and Research Fellow at the Baskerville Institute—for the Community School Oral History Project.

The Community School Oral History Project (CSOHP) explores the history of the Community School of Tehran (1935-80) through interviews with former students, faculty, and staff from across the United States and the world. With support from PHS, Baskerville Institute, and Emory & Henry College, Shannon will conduct interviews in-person and remotely. The recordings and their transcriptions will be preserved and made freely available through Pearl Digital Collections, the Presbyterian Historical Society’s online archive.

PHS Director of Programs and Services Natalie Shilstut is looking forward to the collaboration.

“PHS is thrilled to partner with Matthew Shannon and the Baskerville Institute to preserve and provide access to the oral histories created as part of the Community School Oral History Project,” Shilstut said. “The diverse scope of the planned interviews will complement the Society’s existing collections, which focus primarily on the Presbyterian Church’s administrative work in Iran, by filling the gap in representation of the student and faculty experience at Community School.”

The interviews and digital collection will preserve memories of the school, add alumni voices to the record, and contribute to the history of Presbyterian missions, international education, and U.S.-Iran relations.  

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To schedule an interview, contact Matthew Shannon: mshannon@ehc.edu
To view the Tehran Community School collection in Pearl, click here
To support the project, please visit: https://baskervilleinstitute.org/