A Taste of Memory

July 13, 2021 Incite Institute at Columbia University

Two kids with their grandmother sitting next to the table, full of traditional Chinese New Year snacks.

Why are food memories so powerful? What exactly does it mean when people talk about food? Resonating with the recent OHMA workshop with Storm Garner for her Queens Night Market Vendor Stories and Oral History Project, OHMA student Nina Zhou shares an example of how food memories are curated on documentary media.

Oral History Education: Facilitating Intergenerational Learning

May 11, 2021 Admin

Image description: A collage of students enrolled in the Real World History class each posing for a photograph with their narrator after recording an oral history interview. The photographs that make up the collage are organized into a three-by-three grid.

Inspired by the reflections of Dr. Winona Wheeler in a class discussion preceding the OHMA workshop series event, “Land Back! The Importance of Oral History in First Nation Land Claims Cases,” Max Peterson reflects on his experience helping to facilitate intergenerational learning through a student oral history project.

What Does Comfort Look Like?

May 7, 2021 Admin

Image graphic of kow piak sen by Laos in the House

Inspired by Storm Garner’s recent workshop, “Editing for the Mass Market: Tips and Tidbits from the Queens Night Market Vendor Stories Oral History Project,” wherein she chronicles stories from people of diverse backgrounds about the food they create, Rattana Bounsouaysana explores the idea around the different meanings of comfort.

A Heroine’s Journey Through History

November 24, 2020 Incite Institute at Columbia University

*A photo I recently took at a Detroit railroad underpass on Trumbull St. A colorful mural of “Black Lives Matter” painted into the geometric design on a division between the road and nature.*

After navigating Sarita Daftary-Steel’s East New York Oral History (ENYOH) Project, a current MFA dramaturgy student, Kate Foster, reflects on her journey to uncover and understand her family’s history in Detroit, MI. She remarks on the benefits of agency in learning history and discovers connections between the ENYOH Project and the elements of a documentary play.

Reflections on East New York

November 22, 2020 Admin

In this black and white photo, the writers' grandparents, Papa Bruno and Nonna, pose for a portrait with their young son Robert, who is a toddler. Papa Bruno and Nonna are in their mid-twenties and both fair skinned with dark hair. Papa Bruno sits o… — In this black and white photo, the writers' grandparents, Papa Bruno and Nonna, pose for a portrait with their young son Robert, who is a toddler. Papa Bruno and Nonna are in their mid-twenties and both fair skinned with dark hair. Papa Bruno sits on the left, wearing a white shirt and print tie. Nonna sits on the right, wearing a white dress and a necklace. Uncle Robert sits in the middle and also wears a white shirt.

This personal timeline essay is inspired by the East New York Oral History Project’s interactive timeline, which allows visitors to learn about the historical and political contexts of racial segregation on local, regional and national levels. Although the project’s timeline is on a grand scale, it caused me to reflect on my tenuous personal experiences in East New York, and sent me on a journey to learn more about my family history in the neighborhood.

We Speak the Same Language, We See through Different Tongues

October 20, 2019 Admin

Credit to Imgur: https://imgur.com/gallery/ocClUAn image from the film The Arrival of the written language of an alien group—one that exists based on symbols and functions with regard to past, present, and future simultaneously. It resembles a black… — *Credit to Imgur:* *https://imgur.com/gallery/ocClU*
An image from the film The Arrival of the written language of an alien group—one that exists based on symbols and functions with regard to past, present, and future simultaneously. It resembles a black inkblot that swirls into a circle.

Languages don’t just dictate who we talk to, they shape the way we think. Current Columbia College student Amanda Ong considers the how the languages we speak mold the way we learn to see and navigate the world, even when we are not speaking them.

The Most Unlikely Love Story

October 10, 2019 Admin

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Stories never stop being created, even in the most unlikely of places. Drawing on oral history testimonies from Auschwitz prisoners, filmmaker Michal Bukojemski, creator of The Auschwitz Chronicles, uncovers a most unlikely love story.

When the “Brick City” becomes the “New Jerusalem”

October 7, 2019 Admin

Photo Credits: City of NewarkImage Description: Cars whizz by in one of the most vibrant and active intersections in downtown Newark, NJ. — Photo Credits: City of Newark
Image Description: Cars whizz by in one of the most vibrant and active intersections in downtown Newark, NJ.

Newark, New Jersey isn’t just a place for looking back; it’s also for looking forward. Current Columbia College student Kyra Ann Dawkins wrestles with her expanding understanding of Newark beyond her family’s story and into the broken and beautiful narratives of the hyperdiverse city.