Interview with Joel Hettger, May 13, 2021
Project: Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Project
Interview Summary
Joel Hettger served in Iran from 1970 to 1972. Hettger worked in three Tehran libraries—the Law and Political Science Library at Tehran University, the Central Library, and the Jordan Polytechnique Library. Hettger joined Peace Corps as a postponement to military service during the Vietnam War draft period. He had ten days of staging in Philadelphia. His group underwent three months of training, including in both colloquial and literary Farsi, in Karaj, Iran before his permanent assignment began. Hettger recalled that his group was unique in that it had two couples over the age of sixty-five and was the first to do in-country training. Hettger describes the Islamic environment in Iran as restrictive. Despite this, Hettger called Tehran a modern city, highlighting its concert hall where Peace Corps volunteers played in the orchestra. Hettger also describes his living conditions and health struggles.Interview Accession
Interviewee Name
Interviewer Name
Interview Date
Interview LC Subject
Peace Corps (U.S.) Volunteers Iran Rutgers University Librarians Travel International travel Education Training Diversity Languages Language and culture Libraries Books Reading Housing Buses Transportation Music Food Concerts Friendship Manners and customs Socialization Afghanistan Turkey Peace Corps (U.S.)--1970-1980 Vietnam War, 1961-1975 Persian language EnglishInterview Rights
All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.Interview Usage
Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.Restriction
Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.
Add this interview to your cart in order to begin the process of requesting access to a copy of and/or permission to reproduce interview(s).
Hettger, Joel Interview by Joyce L. Jenkins. 13 May. 2021. Lexington, KY: Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
Hettger, J. (2021, May 13). Interview by J. L. Jenkins. Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Project. Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington.
Hettger, Joel, interview by Joyce L. Jenkins. May 13, 2021, Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Project, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
Persistent Link for this Record: https://kentuckyoralhistory.org/ark:/16417/xt7gsx436p9hj