FAQ - Incite at Columbia University

FAQ

• What are Incite, COH, OHAC and OHMA?

  Incite, an interdisciplinary research institute at Columbia University, is the home for Columbia Oral History. Columbia Oral History (COH) is a hub for oral history practitioners, projects, and pedagogy, including the Oral History Master of Arts (OHMA) program. The Oral History Archives at Columbia (OHAC), housed by the Columbia University Libraries, is where oral history archival collections are located.

• Can I hire COH to conduct an oral history project?

  We do not do work for hire, but we do often work on grant-funded projects with community and institutional partners. If you want to explore collaborating with us on a project, reach out.

• I want to hire a freelancer for oral history training, interviewing, project management, transcription, or audio/video editing––can you point me in the right direction?

  Yes. The alumni of our Oral History Master of Arts program are trained in those skills and many are professionals available for hire. You can learn more about alumni in our community here, or contact us at oralhistory@columbia.edu with a request to share your RFP or  job description via our networks. You can also search the Oral History Association’s “Find an Oral Historian” feature to search beyond our alumni network.

• Do you offer classes in oral history for the general public or for Columbia affiliates?

  Yes. We offer an Oral History Masters of Arts degree in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and host an annual Summer Institute. We also offer training workshops open to the public. You can subscribe to our mailing list  to receive information about the workshops and all Incite programming.

• I have an oral history project in mind and would like to chat with you about it—when are you available?

  We have limited capacity to provide one-on-one consulting, but we will do our best to help! You might find our oral history resources to be a helpful starting point, including introductory guides and a list of organizations where oral historians gather. To discuss potential research collaborations and partnerships, please write to the director of COH, Amy Starecheski (aas39@columbia.edu).

• I just heard about your Summer Institute – how can I apply?

  All the relevant information on the theme, instructors, cost, application and deadlines is outlined on the Summer Institute website, which is the fastest way to obtain information. Details about next year’s Summer Institute appears on the website as soon as it becomes available, usually near the beginning of each calendar year. Application is required, and the Summer Institute is very popular, so please be aware of each year’s deadline to apply.

• Where is your office and can I stop by and view your collection?

  The COH staff is based at 61 Claremont Avenue. This office is our hub for projects and pedagogy, but we do not host the collection here. While this location is not open to the public, members of our team are often available to meet with you by appointment, and you are welcome to get in touch to inquire. Information about our public events, both online and in-person, is available on our events page. Many of the oral history collections created by COH are available to the public online, and in some cases, we may have archival partners who provide access to these collections as well. You can learn more on our project pages.

  The Oral History Archives at Columbia is open to the public, by appointment, and is located within the Rare Book and Manuscript Library collection in Butler Library on Columbia's campus. Please follow their policies and consult with their staff to request any oral history archival materials.

• Can I get recording equipment on loan?

  Unfortunately, we are not able to provide equipment loans at this time. Barnard College & Columbia University students, faculty, and staff can borrow equipment from the Sloate Media Center.

• Do you provide access to software for oral history?

  Columbia affiliates can access tools including Audacity, GarageBand, Final Cut Pro through the Digital Humanities Center in Butler Library. The Digital Music Lab also has workstations with audio editing software available. Columbia’s Podcasting Partnership program supports Audacity and Audition.

• Can you recommend recording equipment that’s suited to my purpose and means?

  Recording equipment is changing rapidly - we recommend checking out Transom’s Tools articles (for radio people, but relevant for oral historians) and Digital Omnium (for oral historians) to stay up to date on the newest options for audio recording.

• Are there transcription software programs that you recommend?

  We use a mix of Descript and MacWhisper for AI-assisted transcription. We also rely on professional transcription companies and individuals to transcribe our interviews, followed by an in-house audit-edit of transcripts by COH staff.

• I am a narrator in one of COH’s active projects and have questions about my interview, transcript or legal release—who do I contact?

  Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have about your interview, transcript or legal release. If your interview was completed over a year ago, be sure to include the following details when you get in touch: the name of the project you participated in and/or the name of your most recent point of contact at Incite or COH. Interviews from completed projects are typically cared for by an archive, in which case many questions about access can be best answered by the archivist.