Cyrana Dowell, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor · Middle Tennessee State University

Cyrana B. Dowell is an oral historian whose work centers on the design, implementation, and stewardship of oral history projects across academic and community settings. Trained in public history with a specialization in archives and oral history, she has led and contributed to projects documenting a range of lived experiences. Her experience spans the full oral history lifecycle, from project planning and IRB approval to interviewing, transcription, indexing, and the preservation, description, and access of oral history collections in archival repositories. Her scholarship examines the complexities of narrative, memory, and identity in oral history. As an Assistant Professor at Middle Tennessee State University, she teaches oral history theory and methodology and develops project-based learning experiences that train students in professional oral history practice.