In this post, OHMA student Filip Mazurczak compares the methods of research used by Jennifer Egan and James Michener in writing historical fiction.
Read MoreMahalia and Studs, Mr. Jones and Dr. King
In this post, part-time OHMA student Bud Kliment reviews Glorious Mahalia by Stacy Harrop and Peace Be Till, by multimedia composer Zachary James Watkins as performed by the Kronos Quartet in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Read MoreMusic, Oral History, and the Self: A Look into Julia Wolfe’s Anthracite Fields
Image taken by Chris Lee for the Krannert Center
Current OHMA student Kyna Patel (2017 cohort) reflects on the historical and political themes in composer Julia Wolfe’s Anthracite Fields, as well as her personal connection with her work.
Read MoreThe Story is in the Strings
Copyright Peter Serling 2009
Julia Wolfe came to Columbia University to speak on December 7, 2017, and was interviewed live by Bud Kliment as part of the Workshop Series: Oral History and the Arts. Among other things, she spoke about her 2009 musical composition Steel Hammer that was based on the tale of John Henry and her 2014 musical composition Anthracite Fields that was a tribute to the Pennsylvania anthracite coal miners and their families.
Read MoreMichael Roberson and Ballroom Culture
OHMA student Desmond Austin-Miller reflects on Michael Roberson’s contribution to the Fall Workshop Series, A History of Echoes, Pt. 2: Sound of Trans Freedom and the influence Roberson left on him as a Black academic.
Read MoreMusic lesson: notes on doing a public interview
Bud Kliment, a part-time OHMA student, reflects on his recent conversation with composer Julia Wolfe, and some of the challenges (and benefits) of conducting a public interview.
Read MoreFrom an act of listening to embodiment - a further step in the path of compassion
Image by Laura Summer
In this post, OHMA student Yiyi Zhang (2017) reflects on E. Patrick Johnson’s performative approach to story-telling and its relation to understanding and compassion between people.
Read MoreRepresentation Matters
OHMA student Samantha Lombard (2018) reflects on E. Patrick Johnson’s theatrical representation of his narrators from oral history interviews he conducted as part of research for his book, Sweet Tea: Black Gay Men of the South – An Oral History.
Read MoreAn Oral History Toolbox: a methodology for immersive ethnography
In this post, Oral History Masters Student Alissa Funderburk discusses the methodology of self-interrogation mentioned by E. Patrick Johnson, oral historian and Carlos Montezuma Professor of Performance Studies at Northwestern University, in his recent talk for the OHMA Oral History and the Arts Workshop series.
Read MoreThe Sincerity of Sound
Nutmeg Harvest Baskets, Image from Nyssa Chow’s Still Life
In this post, OHMA student Elyse Blennerhassett (2017) reflects on Robert Sember’s approach to sound. Born under apartheid South Africa, Sember moved to the United States in the 80s to become a prominent activist in social movements relating to health, sexual, gender, racial, and class inequalities.
Read MoreBorn in Struggle: Ultra-red’s Activist Oral History Approach
image credit © ultra-red
In this post, OHMA student Holly Werner-Thomas (2017) considers the theme of struggle in the life and work of Robert Sember, who is an Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Arts at The New School’s Eugene Lang College, and a member of the international sound-art collective, Ultra-red.
Read MoreA Means to an Endeavor
Stills from Michael Roberson on the Ballroom Freedom School by Shawn Van Sluys on Vimeo.
Current OHMA student Carlin Zia reflects on her experience of the penultimate workshop in our fall series—Michael Roberson’s A History of Echoes, Pt. 2: Sound of Trans Freedom—and shares how the event influences her own approach to oral history.
Read MoreMichael Roberson and Ballroom: The Trans Sound of Black Freedom
In this post, OHMA student Lynn Lewis (2017) describes a recent workshop with Ultra-Red member Michael Roberson. Roberson is a public health practitioner, advocate, activist and leader within the LGBTQ community who created the Federation of Ballroom Houses, and co-created the National Black Gay Men's Advocacy Group.
Read More“Moving Between” Works in Public Health and as an Artist
Image from Public Listening Session, held within Vogue'ology 2010 exhibition. Event lead by Robert Sember
In this post, OHMA student Yameng Xia (2017) considers Robert Sember’s work in public health and his work as an artist based on his work and an interview she conducted. Robert Sember is an Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Arts at the New School’s Eugene Lang College, and a member of the international sound-art collective, Ultra-red.
Read MoreReview: “The B-Side: ‘Negro Folklore From Texas State Prisons’ A Record Album Interpretation"
In this post, part-time OHMA student Bud Kliment reviews “The B-Side: ‘Negro Folklore in Texas Prisons’ A Record Album Interpretation’” a performance piece of musical theater and oral history based on the 1965 LP “Negro Folklore from Texas State Prisons.”
Read MoreFind Your People: Dispatch about the 2017 Oral History Association Conference
From left to right: Jess Lamar Reece Holler, Kimber Thomas, Danielle Dulken, Rachel Gelfand and Fanny García after their workshop, "Orality, Affective Power, and Activism: Making Oral History Art" at the 2017 Oral History Association Annual Meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
In this post OHMA alum Fanny Julissa García (2016) discusses her experience at the recent 2017 Oral History Association Conference in comparison to her first visit to the conference in 2016, and her collaboration on a panel about making oral history into art.
Read MoreDiaspora Jazz: My personal reflection of Miguel Zenon’s Identities are Changeable
Andrew Viñales is a current OHMA student. In this post, he reflects on the meaning of diaspora jazz.
Read MoreUsing Images -- The Universal Language?
Bill Smith is a current OHMA student. In this post, inspired by Dr. Ron Doel, he looks to image analysis as a tool for a deeper reading of oral histories.
Read MoreTalking About Love: documentary interview styles
Liz Strong is a current OHMA student. In this post, she looks at interview tactics in documentary film.
Read MoreAn illuminating account of tango as a transnational practice: a review of Kathy Davis’s Dancing Tango
DongKue Lee is a current OHMA student. In this post, he explores Kathy Davis' account of tango as a transnational practice.
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