Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash
OHMA VIRTUAL OPEN HOUSE
Information session
Virtually meet OHMA students and alums
Presentation by OHMA Alum: Alissa Rae Funderburk
Mini-interviewing workshop, taught by OHMA Director Amy Starecheski
OHMA 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. 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.
OHMA ALUM PRESENTATION:
Alissa Rae Funderburk is the Oral Historian for the Margaret Walker Center at the HBCU Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi. She maintains an oral history archive that, like the Center, is dedicated to the preservation, interpretation, and dissemination of African American history and culture. Previously, she created an oral history course for high school students at the Roger Lehecka Double Discovery Center and conducted freelance oral history interviews for the city of Jersey City.
While completing coursework in the Oral History Masters Program at Columbia, Alissa Rae served as the Deputy Director of the Columbia Life Histories Project alongside its co-founder Benji de la Piedra. Her OHMA thesis on the religious and spiritual experiences of Black men in New York City was based on her studies of race, culture, religion, and the African diaspora, when graduating from Columbia College in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology as a John W. Kluge Scholar. Alissa Rae is a native New Yorker, avid reader, and yoga enthusiast with a passion for travel.
WATCH NOW
Time Index:
Welcome - (00:00:00)
Introduction Video "What is OHMA?" - (00:02:27)
Introduction to Oral History - (00:17:45)
Overview of Program - (00:44:00)
Presentation by Alum: Alissa Rae Funderburk - (00:49:51)
What do OHMA students do? OHMA Courses and Training - (01:15:09)
Prospective students are also welcome to meet with the OHMA director or virtually sit-in on one of our classes. Please send us an email (ohma@columbia.edu) to connect
These events are open to all. For more information or if we can make any of these events more accessible to you please contact Rebecca McGilveray at rlm2203@columbia.edu.