Intersections Between a Clinical Encounter and an Oral History Interview: Skilled Listening and Narrative Understanding

May 13, 2019 Admin

Sculpture: My Father's Hearing Aid Cast in Gold by Neil Goldberg, 2012

During the OHMA Workshop , “Say It Forward: Art and Social Justice,” Lauren Taylor LCSW discussed her chapter, “Resilience: Elders in East Harlem,” reflecting on how her experience as a psychiatric social worker has both helped and hindered her practice as an oral historian. In this post, Caroline Offit explores the ways these roles interact: How do we think carefully about our narrator’s needs while being conscious of our own position and influence on an interview, as well as potentially evaluative or diagnostic language? How do we remain sensitive to the possible meanings that a narrator attaches to their words and how we personally interpret their words?

Why Are These Stories Worth Telling?: Reflections on ‘Below the Grid’ (Part III)

December 21, 2016 Admin

Oral historian Ron Grele (Director Emeritus, Oral History Research Office) engaging in discussion at Jack Tchen's recent OHMA Workshop Series lecture.

In this post, current OMHA student Yutong Wang (2016) explores how oral histories can be both meaningful and impactful to public audiences.

This article is the final piece in a three-part series exploring Jack Kuo Wei Tchen’s recent OHMA Workshop Series lecture, “Below the Grid.”

The Dialogic Space & Feeling the Human Story: Reflections on 'Below the Grid' (Part I)

December 19, 2016 Admin

In this post, Chinonye Alma Otuonye explores the dialogic space as a mechanism towards a human understanding of the self and history. She reflects on the ways John Kuo Wei Tchen—NYU professor, historian, and curator—decolonizes both space and history within and through his work.

This article is the first in a three-part series exploring Tchen’s recent OHMA Workshop Series lecture, “Below the Grid.”