Beyond and Before the Curtain: Oral History Theatre of Toronto Chinatown Women

November 1, 2020 Admin

Women of different ages, colors, and roles - in a circle, weaving the glittering web for a night sky. This artwork piece is inspired by a song to make a beautiful metaphor communicating how powerful women are, in constructing the world. (Photo: Moll… — Women of different ages, colors, and roles - in a circle, weaving the glittering web for a night sky. This artwork piece is inspired by a song to make a beautiful metaphor communicating how powerful women are, in constructing the world. (Photo: Molly Costello Art & Design)

What does an actor/actress look like when off-stage in the real world? The human drama goes on beyond the curtain fall. In this piece, OHMA student Yiling (Nina) Zhou draws from an interview she conducted studying the history of Cantonese Opera in Canada and reflects on her oral history project. This approach was inspired by the recent OHMA workshop with Nikki Yeboah, whose oral history performance project, “The (M)others, explores the stories of four women who lost their loved ones to police brutality. Her process of theatre-making shows an empowering way in storytelling of women.

Journeys Through Spaces: Spoken, Written, Physical and Virtual

May 18, 2020 Admin

In this blogpost, inspired by Carlin Zia’s March 5th OHMA presentation on her book “Uncertain Journeys,” Lisa R. Cohen reflects on the fluid nature of shared memories in different spaces - traveling back and forth between spoken, written, physical and even, increasingly, the virtual world.

Hug Your Plant! and Other Self-Care Tips for Oral Historians in Lockdown

May 18, 2020 Admin

A desk in front of a window. It’s sunset. The window looks out onto mountains. On the desk there are books, notebooks, postcards and a pencil case.Photo Credit: Eleonora Anedda — *A desk in front of a window. It’s sunset. The window looks out onto mountains. On the desk there are books, notebooks, postcards and a pencil case.*
*Photo Credit: Eleonora Anedda*

Ted Kerr’s wise words inspired OHMA student Eleonora Anedda to reflect on the responsibilities of oral historians in times of crisis. Not so much on their duty towards others, but their obligations towards themselves. This piece will examine much needed self care habits that can be incorporated in our lockdown routines.

Uncovering Thyself: Identity Politics & Oral History

May 14, 2020 Admin

Illustration of a ghost (the oral historian) holding a microphone next to a person sitting down.

In this blog post, current OHMA student Marina Labarthe del Solar shares a conversation with Theodore Kerr about the importance of being transparent about your identity and positionality with the communities you work with. Marina writes about identity politics and how knowing where you stand with respect to power is an essential skill for oral historians.

Dialogue with Institutionalized Residents: Examples and Advice

May 14, 2020 Admin

Mt. Fuji in distance(Photo: Sach Takayasu) — Mt. Fuji in distance
(Photo: Sach Takayasu)

How do you engage in a dialogue with a narrator who lives permanently in an institution? Let me tell you a story.

AI: An opportunity to reimagine an old-world anew

May 13, 2020 Admin

A black earbud case sits on a smartphone.Photo by SCREEN POST on Unsplash — *A black earbud case sits on a smartphone.*
Photo by SCREEN POST on Unsplash

In this piece, Francine D. Spang-Willis reimagines a relationship with oral history and technology to create artificial intelligence that is more representative of and responsive to maintaining and perpetuating Indigenous language, knowledge, and culture. The piece is inspired by Stephanie Dinkins' Oral History as Told by AI presentation given on April 2, 2020.

What can journalists learn from Oral History when covering the Covid-19 pandemic?

May 13, 2020 Admin

*A an old-fashioned camera lies on top of a stack of books and papers, with a typewriter in the background. (Credit: Wallace Chuck)*

To capture the complexity of the coronavirus pandemic, and to honour the voices of the communities most impacted, journalists can draw upon some of the techniques practiced by oral history.

In Search of Shared Experience

May 12, 2020 Admin

*Two young men, wearing bright orange coveralls and rubber boots, pause near each other while laboring in a lush field, lined by tropical vegetation.*

How can we invite people to dig into their memories and offer us their stories? In this blog post, Amanda Blewitt, a doctoral student in International Education, reflects on how sharing experiences with participants can evoke the past while connecting us in the present. This reflection was inspired by Laura Mitchison’s conversation with OHMA on April 9, 2020.

Who Are You?: Thoughts on Identity and Language

May 12, 2020 Admin

The photo has a simple grey background. There is a black and white string threaded between the top corners. A small back clothespin is clipped on the middle of the string; hanging from the clothespin is a white piece of paper. Printed on the paper a… — The photo has a simple grey background. There is a black and white string threaded between the top corners. A small back clothespin is clipped on the middle of the string; hanging from the clothespin is a white piece of paper. Printed on the paper are the words: “I am…”
Image from: https://circlein.com/how-to-rediscover-your-identity/

How do you describe who you are? What words do you choose? What meanings do your choices carry with them? Current OHMA student Lily Doron ponders these questions in this essay on identity, language, and how we see ourselves. It is inspired by Carlin Zia’s OHMA workshop presentation, Uncertain Journeys.

Review: “Food: From Source to Salespoint” a British Library Oral History Collection

May 7, 2020 Admin

Three dishes of hand-made pasta. The plate on the right is a simple spaghetti al sugo, the one on the bottom is a creamy pappardelle ai funghi porcini, and lastly the one on top is a spaghetti alla bottarga. This meal was enjoyed in the Fall of 2019… — Three dishes of hand-made pasta. The plate on the right is a simple spaghetti al sugo, the one on the bottom is a creamy pappardelle ai funghi porcini, and lastly the one on top is a spaghetti alla bottarga. This meal was enjoyed in the Fall of 2019 in Los Angeles at Pasta Sisters.
*Photo Credits: Annie Yan*

In this post, OHMA student Eleonora Anedda (2019 -2020 cohort) will give you a taste of the vast British Library Archive by exploring their oral history collection on food, the British kitchen scene, and its radical changes over the course of the last century. She wishes to apologiseapologizees in advance if this post makes you hungry.

Community Story-Catching in Post-Conflict El Salvador

January 31, 2020 Admin

Photograph of a workshop which shows Molly Todd and Barbara Mergen talking with a group of attendees who all look to be Salvadoran. The attendees are seated in chairs in the middle of a classroom looking at large printed photographs with Barbara and… — Photograph of a workshop which shows Molly Todd and Barbara Mergen talking with a group of attendees who all look to be Salvadoran. The attendees are seated in chairs in the middle of a classroom looking at large printed photographs with Barbara and Molly standing behind and leaning in to discuss the exercise.

What would it look like if we valued group narratives over individual ones? In this post Jacey Anderson (graduate student of History at Montana State University) describes the methods of collaborative, multi-generational workshops she co-facilitated in El Salvador in January 2019. Using their long-standing relationships with the community of Arcatao, Dr. Molly Todd (professor of history at Montana State University), Barbara Mergen Alvarado (bilingual and multicultural educator), and Jacey explore how to use the lessons they learned from the people of Arcatao to design highly participatory historic memory workshops.

Report-back: China International Oral History Week

January 6, 2020 Admin

What are oral historians in China up to? OHMA Director Amy Starecheski shares her impressions from a recent trip to Beijing.

“There’s no sound and it’s ok” - the unforeseen challenges of an “Oracle Circle” facilitation

December 20, 2019 Admin

Dr. Alexis Pauline Gumbs listens for a living: the mission of her work is to “create infinite ways to facilitate listening.” The renowned black feminist scholar and poet shared with us how she approaches listening to herself/body/spirit, to artistic inspiration and to others during her November 7th “"Necessary as Water": Queer Black Ceremony and the Depth of Listening” workshop. She also facilitated a listening “Oracle Circle” for audience members. Gallant Zhuangli, a Barnard College senior and oral history enthusiast, was inspired to lead an “Oracle Circle” of her own in an effort to better understand and reflect on Dr. Gumbs’ innovative listening practices.

“Creating a Dark Space”: Listening to and Prioritizing Intuition

December 13, 2019 Admin

A screenshot from the 2001 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone movie scene in which Hermione says getting expelled would be worse than getting killed. Harry, a kid with black hair and round glasses, and Ron, a red-head, are looking off-camera as H… — A screenshot from the 2001 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone movie scene in which Hermione says getting expelled would be worse than getting killed. Harry, a kid with black hair and round glasses, and Ron, a red-head, are looking off-camera as Hermione storms away. Ron’s words are captioned: “She needs to sort out her priorities.” Photo credit: Warner Bros.

What do a 4 am wake-up time, the base of a pyramid, and the origin of a mathematical graph have in common? In Liu Chen’s post on the workshop led by Dr. Alexis Pauline Gumbs, they reflect on priorities in oral history practices, intuition, and the value of darkness.

Jeremy Bentham’s Tape Recorder: Being As Useful As Possible In Oral History

December 5, 2019 Admin

A modified painting by Henry William Pickergill depicting Jeremy Bentham, a large, distinguished-looking white man with long hair sitting down in front of a black background. To the left of him is a photoshopped image of a small tape recorder, with … — A modified painting by Henry William Pickergill depicting Jeremy Bentham, a large, distinguished-looking white man with long hair sitting down in front of a black background. To the left of him is a photoshopped image of a small tape recorder, with some books placed behind.

Hi, I’m Zack Daniel Schiavetta, of the 2020 OHMA cohort, and for this blog post I’m writing about applying utilitarian ethics, which seeks to provide the maximum good for the greatest number of people, to oral history to make the field accessible to as many people as possible.

Oral History as Ceremony and Ceremony as Oral History

December 5, 2019 Admin

On October 24, Dr. Kahente Horn-Miller, of the Mohawk Nation, gave a powerful sharing about her ancestors, culture, and connection to the earth through monologue, song, and dance during the presentation of Standing with Sky Woman: A conversation on cultural fluency. In this post, current OHMA student, Francine D. Spang-Willis, considers the method of transferring Indigenous knowledge to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples through storytelling as an oral history method. She also explores oral history as ceremony and ceremony as oral history.

Who are our ancestors? Lessons from Animism

December 5, 2019 Admin

Photo by Łukasz Maźnica on UnsplashIn this high definition photo there is an old stone building that looks like a temple, which takes up most of the frame; the stone has moss, plants, and moisture discoloration. A dirt or sandy path leads to an open… — Photo by Łukasz Maźnica on Unsplash
In this high definition photo there is an old stone building that looks like a temple, which takes up most of the frame; the stone has moss, plants, and moisture discoloration. A dirt or sandy path leads to an opening in the building which is rectangular and opens to a very dark entrance you cannot see beyond. There seems to be no moving door. Covering this old structure are white and gray roots, it looks as if the roots come from the sky and cover most of the building before reaching the ground. The photo was taken in Cambodia.

Oral history has been a practice in academic spaces for a short time, but has existed in indigenous cultures and oral traditions for many, many years. Dr. Alexis Gumbs @alexispauline explores in she work topics such as: elders, listening, embodiment and even learning from marine mammals. Noor Alzamami takes a deeper look at the connections between animism and oral history in this post after reflecting on Dr. Alexis Gumbs presentation.

Newest Americans and Resurrecting Oral History from the “Chamber of Death”

December 3, 2019 Admin

During the second OHMA workshop, Newest Americans: Stories from the Global City, co-founder and director Tim Raphael presented an exciting possibility for the activation of oral history archives: collaborative multimedia and social media platforms. In this blog post, Thu Anh Le explores the unique nuances of this creative storytelling process with the reflection of her advocacy works in Vietnam, and contemplates further implication of oral history as a discipline that challenges our current understanding of academic legitimization and epistemology.

Who Has the Right to Tell a Story?

November 25, 2019 Admin

A black and white photograph of Downtown Manhattan taken from the Empire State Building. It was March 2018, a cloudy day in New York. The fog blurred the skyscrapers in the Financial District. There are no humans in this picture, just buildings.[1]

In this piece, current OHMA student Eleonora Anedda (2019-2020 cohort) wanders around the ethics of storytelling. Her post was inspired by Tim Raphael’s presentation on his ongoing project Newest Americans, and its multimedia oral history archive.

The Truth of the Apple

November 21, 2019 Admin

Intro: Stories of survival, hope, and love have helped shape the narratives of Holocaust survivors. But what happens when what we perceive to be the truth is actually a lie? In this post, current OHMA student, Elizabeth Jefimova, will discuss the role of truth and accountability in oral testimonies when faced with portions of narratives that are fabricated.