Please join us for an Oral History M.A. program open house on Thursday, January 23, 2020, 6:30-8:30, Location The Interchurch Center 61 Claremont Ave, room ABCD.
. Refreshments will be served.
OHMA OPEN HOUSE
Information session
Learn about our Future Voices Fellowship
Meet OHMA students and alums
Presentation by OHMA Alumni
Mini-interviewing workshop
OHMA is the first program of its kind: a one-year interdisciplinary Master of Arts degree training students in oral history method and theory. Our graduates work in museums, historical societies, advocacy organizations, media, the arts, education, human rights, and development. OHMA is also excellent preparation for doctoral work in fields like anthropology, history, journalism, and American studies or professional degrees in law, education, or social work.
Jointly run by the Columbia Center for Oral History Research, one of the preeminent oral history centers in the world, and INCITE, a lively hub for interdisciplinary research in the humanities and social sciences, OHMA connects students with the intellectual resources of a major research university, and with the intimate society of a small cohort of talented students.
During a year at OHMA, students learn the skills of digital audio and video production and editing, digital archiving, oral history project design and interviewing, and both historical and social science analysis. Working with an OHMA faculty member, each student is guided through the process of creating a thesis or capstone project. Past projects have taken the form of academic and creative essays, film and audio documentaries, performances, exhibits, and multimedia websites. OHMA students also have access to elective courses taught anywhere within the University and exclusive oral history internship opportunities.
PRESENTATION BY OHMA ALUM: JANÉE MOSES
Janée will talk about her experience interviewing Amina Baraka and her methodology as an oral historian. While interviewing Baraka for over 5 years, Janée realized that Baraka's life experiences are as complex as they are extraordinary. As a Ph.D. candidate in American Culture, Janée has been challenged with the task of transforming the spoken narrative of the intimate interview into a manuscript for an academic publication and audiences. Her forthcoming article, "Mah friend's tongue is in mah mouf: Oral Historian as Conjurer" details the interventions that Janée's oral history training and fieldwork have made to the fields of African American Literature and Black Women's Studies.
Janée Moses is an oral historian and Rackham Predoctoral Fellow at the University of Michigan. Her dissertation, “A House to Sing In: Extra/Ordinary Black Women’s Narratives”, utilizes oral history interviews and other life-writing forms to consider the ways in which black women’s cultural expressions reveal truer truths about their negotiations of love, relationships, and revolution. Janée is an OHMA alum.
Prospective students are also welcome to meet with the OHMA director or sit in on our classes leading up to the open house. Please send us an email (ohma@columbia.edu) to connect and plan your visit!
Please review our admissions page for further information.