Review: “The Lifespan of a Fact”

April 11, 2019 Incite Institute at Columbia University

Daniel Radcliffe, Cherry Jones, and Bobby Cannavale star in The Lifespan of a Fact, directed by Leigh Silverman, at Broadway's Studio 54.(© Peter Cunningham) — Daniel Radcliffe, Cherry Jones, and Bobby Cannavale star in *The Lifespan of a Fact*, directed by Leigh Silverman, at Broadway's Studio 54.
(© Peter Cunningham)

As oral historians we are taught to value personal truths and “mine for meaning” as Portelli once said. But in the era of “fake news” should we be so quick to dismiss facts? Current OHMA student ventured away from the library for a night at the theatre to watch this play out in “Lifespan of a Fact.”

From an act of listening to embodiment - a further step in the path of compassion

December 15, 2017 Admin

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.

Representation Matters

December 15, 2017 Admin

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.

An Oral History Toolbox: a methodology for immersive ethnography

December 13, 2017 Admin

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.