Columbia Center for Oral History Research
Located within Butler Library, the Columbia University Center for Oral History Research is the oldest oral history program. Pulitzer Prize winner Allan Nevins founded the program in 1948. There is an extensive list of projects belonging to the center, both current and completed.[1] Currently the office holds 8,000 taped memoirs and 1,000,000 pages of transcripts.[2]
Founding
Policy was a passion for Allan Nevins, and that inspired him to form the Center for Oral History Research, or more specifically the
Organization
Columbia Center for Oral History (CCOH) is made up of two complementary centers, the Columbia Center for Oral History Research (CCOHR) and the Columbia Center for Oral History Archives (CCOHA). The archives are housed within Butler Library while the research center is part of Interdisciplinary Center for Innovative Theory and Empirics (INCITE). The research center seeks funding for projects. The results of these projects are sent to the archives to be stored and used as source material for future research.[4] Creating another source of reliable information like this was a goal of founder Allan Nevins.[3]
Projects
Projects put together by the CCOHR are stored in their
Current Projects
These are the current oral history research projects for Columbia Center for Oral History
- Phoenix House Oral History Project[5]
- Atlantic Philanthropies Oral History Project
- Has progressed to the second phase of the project which is estimated to last from January 2014 to December 2015[6]
- Institute For Research On Women, Gender, and Sexuality Oral History Project
- This will place Columbia University and the IRWGS at the forefront of feminist development in an academic setting.
- It is expected to run November 2013 through October 2015[7]
- The Robert Rauschenberg Oral History Project
- expected to run June 2013-June 2015[8]
Completed Projects
Apollo Theater Oral History Project
This project compiled about 70 hours of narrative discussing the Apollo Theater through the lens of African-American history, the history of music and performance, and the history of New York City. The primary interviewers are Brent Hayes Edwards and Steve Rowland who were assisted by Gustavo Azendha, Karald Kisiedu, and Jennella Young. The funding for this project was provided by the Apollo Theater Foundation who receive their support from Edward and Leslye Phillips Family Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and New York Community Trust.[9]
Carnegie Corporation Oral History Project
Most recently running from October 2011 to September 2013, the oral history project focusing on the
Rule of Law Oral History Project
Beginning in 2008 the Rule of Law Oral History Project has studied how the events of 9/11 changed human and civil rights. In 2010 the project expanded and explored the treatment of prisoners in Guantánamo Bay. The project amalgamated 250+ hours of interviews. Atlantic Philanthropies, who helped fund their own oral history project also gave this project necessary funding.[11]
September 11, 2001 Oral History Project
Because of the massive scope, and the proximity Columbia Center for Oral History has to the attacks on the
The September 11, 2001 Oral History Narrative and Memory Project
This was the first and largest project on
The September 11, 2001 Response and Recovery Oral History Project
This project spanned from 2002 to 2005 and focused on the people in power who had to organize response teams and get the city back on track. 112 hours of interview were conducted with 68 people running government agencies who responded to the attacks, and 12 interviews were conducted with heavily traumatized people who were directly affected by the response and outreach programs the project focused on. The funding for this project came from The New York Times Foundation and the 9/11 Neediest Fund.[12]
The September 11, 2001 Public Health Oral History Project
After 9/11 there was a lot of fear of
The Telling Lives Oral History Project
This was the first public oral history program because it was run in public schools as an after school program and worked with the Local 40 Ironworkers. The ironworkers were interviewed to talk about the incident, but this project focused on children both as a means to gain their perspective but also to help these children make sense of what happened as it pertains to them. Both the School for International Studies in Brooklyn and the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Middle School 131 participated. The original funding was provided by the New York Times Foundation and the 9/11 Neediest Fund but it wasn't until the
The Chinatown Documentation Project
This project was a collaborative project between CCOH, the Museum of Chinese in the Americas,
References
- ^ a b Sharma, Patrick. "Oral History, Policy History, and Information Abundance and Scarcity". Perspectives on History. American Historical Society. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
- ^ "Columbia University-Oral History Research Office". LibraryThing. LibraryThing. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
- ^ a b c Coe, Natalie; Furl, Jennifer. "Mary Marshall Clark, Director, Columbia University Oral History Research Office: The Oral History of 9/11". Philanthropy News Digest. Foundation Center. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
- ^ "Columbia Center for Oral History Research". Interdisciplinary Center for Innovative Theory and Empirics. Columbia University. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
- ^ "Phoenix House Oral History Project". Interdisciplinary Center for Innovative Theory and Empirics. Columbia University. Archived from the original on 2014-12-10. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
- ^ "Atlantic Philanthropies Oral History Project". Interdisciplinary Center for Innovative Theory and Empirics. Columbia University. Retrieved 8 December 2014.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Institute for Research on Women, Gender, and Sexuality Oral History Project". Interdisciplinary Center for Innovative Theory and Empirics. Columbia University. Archived from the original on 2014-12-08. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
- ^ "The Robert Rauschenberg Oral History Project". Interdisciplinary Center for Innovative Theory and Empirics. Columbia University. Archived from the original on 2014-12-08. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
- ^ "Apollo Theater Oral History Project". Oral History Archives. Columbia University. Archived from the original on 2014-12-08. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
- ^ "Carnegie Corporation Oral History Project". Oral History Archives. Columbia University. Archived from the original on 2014-12-14. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
- ^ "Rule of Law Oral History Project". Oral History Archives. Columbia University. Archived from the original on 2014-12-14. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f "September 11, 2001 Oral History Research Projects". Oral History Archives. Columbia University. Archived from the original on 2014-11-23. Retrieved 7 December 2014.