Earning the Privilege to Listen

November 7, 2019 Admin

Source: https://www.success.com/how-to-speak-well-and-listen-better/An illustration of two silhouettes, facing opposite directions, each with their own dialogue bubble. One silhouette is surrounded by a green background and the other is surrounded b… — **Source:** **https://www.success.com/how-to-speak-well-and-listen-better/**
An illustration of two silhouettes, facing opposite directions, each with their own dialogue bubble. One silhouette is surrounded by a green background and the other is surrounded by a red background.

On October 3, OHMA alumna Emma Courtland presented her thesis, Finding Fathers: A Cautionary Tale for Oral Historians, including audio that highlighted the ways in which her personal journey paralleled those of her narrators. In this post, current OHMA student, Jennie Morrison, considers what it means for oral historians to share pieces of themselves with their narrators, as well as how that shapes the listening process.

To Curate, Or Not To Curate, That is the Question

December 12, 2018 Admin

On a visit to Columbia University, author and scholar Sujatha Fernandes explored the effects of manipulating storytelling in order to achieve desired results. In this article, OHMA student Renaldo McClinton will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of curating stories through social media and other digital platforms.

The Intersection of Oral History and Sociology: Using the Life History Method to Better Understand Social Movements

May 8, 2017 Admin

In this post, OHMA student Steve Fuchs (2016) explores the role oral history plays in helping sociologists better understand social movements. This article is the first in a three-part series exploring Terrell Frazier’s recent OHMA Workshop Series lecture, “Becoming an Organizer: Narrative, Identity and Social Action.”

The Politics of (Mis)recognition

May 4, 2017 Admin

Robertson shows a slide of a photograph of anthropologist Franz Boaz in which she points out how Boaz was “literally holding up a blanket to cover a white picket fence behind him.” By covering the fence, Boaz tried to recreate the world he imag… — Robertson shows a slide of a photograph of anthropologist Franz Boaz in which she points out how Boaz was “literally holding up a blanket to cover a white picket fence behind him.” By covering the fence, Boaz tried to recreate the world he imaged, a wilderness perhaps, before European contact. By contextualizing her voice and the voices of the people involved in the representation of Cook, Robertson’s approach offered guidance as to how understanding forms of social knowledge within politically and culturally sensitive contexts is essential to how we see ourselves in relation to one another.

In this post, OHMA student Elyse Blennerhassett (2016) discusses how Dr. Leslie Robertson’s community-generated and collaborative methodologies inform her own practice in working with communities who are politically marginalized and stigmatized in the criminal justice system. This article is the first in a two-part series exploring Dr. Robertson’s recent OHMA Workshop Series lecture, “Devalued Subjectivities: Disciplines, Voices and Publics.”

Creating Dynamic Dialogue with Our Past and Present: Reflections on ‘Below the Grid’ (Part II)

December 20, 2016 Admin

In this post, current OHMA student Xiaoyan Li (2016) reflects on how the dynamic dialogic process enlightens the shadows of our past and present.

This article is the second in a three-part series exploring Jack Kuo Wei Tchen’s recent OHMA Workshop Series lecture, “Below the Grid.”

Listen to Understand, Brooklyn Then & Now: Exploring 'Voices of Crown Heights' (Part III)

December 16, 2016 Admin

This article is the third and final in a three-part series examining the Brooklyn Historical Society’s ongoing oral history project “Voices of Crown Heights.” In this post, current OHMA student Meave Sheehan (2016) looks at what it means to “live” a public policy and how oral history can be used to uncover both noticeable and more subtle changes over time.

Field Notes: The Narrative Outside of Oral History

November 10, 2016 Admin

Earlier this fall, DW Gibson, author of Not Working and The Edge Becomes the Center: An Oral History of Gentrification in the Twenty-First Century, gave an OHMA Workshop Series lecture in on how he used oral history to reflect the changes in peoples’ lives through gentrification. This article—written by current OHMA student Liu Ting (2016)—focuses on how Gibson presents oral histories in his book and how his own narrative interplays with the interviews.

Ode to the Transcriber, Unsung Hero of Oral History

November 3, 2016 Michael Falco

In this post, current OHMA BA/MA student Rozanne Gooding Silverwood (2015) reflects on the art of transcription and offers her perspective on how the NYPL Community Oral History Project might increase the enlistment of volunteer transcribers by educating prospective participants about the literary history and aesthetic value of rendering the spoken word to text.