PLEASE JOIN US FOR AN OPEN HOUSE FOR THE ORAL HISTORY MA PROGRAM AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
- Presentation by OHMA alum and oral historian Nicole JeanBaptiste
Listen to audio clips collected for Nicole's thesis, A Long Line of Healers: Tracking the Evolution of Birthing Practices Among Women of African Descent and its Connection to the History of Traditional Midwifery in the American South. These are Black women’s voices speaking on intergenerational experiences with and issues surrounding childbirth and their relationship to the history and legacy of traditional birthing practitioners in the American South.
- Information session
- Meet OHMA students and alums
- Mini-interviewing workshop, taught by Columbia Center for Oral History Director Mary Marshall Clark and OHMA Associate Director Amy Starecheski
Refreshments will be served
WHEN: This will take place on January 28, 2016, 6:30 - 8 PM.
WHERE: Knox Hall, 606 W. 122nd Street, Room 509
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
The Oral History Master of Arts 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.
ABOUT NICOLE
Nicole JeanBaptiste is both a birth and postpartum doula and oral historian in New York City. She teaches oral history to Bronx high school students through the New York Public Library's Out of School Time department's Innovation Labs program. Nicole is currently continuing an oral history project she began as an OHMA student, which focuses on the evolution of birthing practices among women of African descent and how this may be linked to the history of midwifery in the American South. She plans to tour the South collecting narratives from Black women who can speak to shifts in childbirth practices and traditional midwifery and use them to write a book of creative non-fiction on this subject. She's found that her work as a doula in underserved areas of the Bronx also greatly contributes to the development of this work.