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Columbia Oral History

Columbia Oral History

A home for innovative oral history projects, pedagogy, and practitioners since 1948.

Home for innovative oral history projects.

We see oral history as a critical space for conversations about the past, happening in the present, and oriented towards the future.

Pedagogy

  • go to the Oral History Master of Arts project
    Oral History Master of Arts

    A one-year interdisciplinary degree training students in oral history method and theory.

  • go to the Oral History Summer Institute project
    Oral History Summer Institute

    A bi-annual meeting of oral historians, scholars, activists, and others for advanced training in the theory and practice of oral history.

  • go to the Columbia Oral History Workshops project
    Columbia Oral History Workshops

    Oral history is a powerful tool for advancing public knowledge, for organizing, for creative practice and more.

     Oral history is a powerful tool for advancing public knowledge, for organizing, for creative practice and more. As part of our mission to act as a vital hub for this ever-evolving field, we offer a range of opportunities to connect, learn, and grow your skills in oral history.

Philosophy

Our work focuses on the life history approach in order to connect biography with its larger social context. Inclusive biographies offer us insights into the full life of the person and thereby provide a glimpse into the evolution of society, as well as the individual person, in defining the context for later social and political actions.

 

Featured Projects

  • go to the The Elders Project project
    The Elders Project Capturing the stories of elders who have shaped America—from Civil Rights activists to tribal leaders to survivors of Stonewall—before they’re lost to history. Funded by Emerson Collective
  • go to the Movements Against Mass Incarceration project
    Movements Against Mass Incarceration

    Building the United States' first archive to center the political ideas and movement-building of incarcerated people.

     Funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
  • go to the Obama Presidency Oral History project
    Obama Presidency Oral History

    Creating a comprehensive oral history of the Obama years with over 450 officials, activists, organizers, and extraordinary people from all walks of life.

     Funded by Columbia University's Office of the President

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