About the Project

This oral history exhibit documents the Occupy Chicago protest site in the financial district of the city's downtown.  The project was conducted and developed by members of Loyola University Chicago's Graduate History Department under the guidance of Dr. Michelle Nickerson as a way to study how demonstrators understand their political actions in an urban context.  Students recorded these interviews on October 12, 2011 (day 20 of the Occupy movement in Chicago). The study was carried out as a way to understand political activity in terms of street-level "occupation."  What does occupying Wall Street mean to the activists involved in the political action?

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M.A. student Zachary Weber transcribed the oral histories and produced the website under the direction of Dr. Nickerson as part of a Spring 2012 Independent Study Project that also involved readings of oral history theory and practice. 

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Even if the "Occupy Wall Street" movement fails to fulfill its far-reaching and myriad ideals, the oral histories at hand can offer insight into this polarizing era of Recession.  By making the oral histories public, we hope to shed light on the diverse people and interests that are encompassed by the on-going Occupy demonstrations.