Collections : [Oral History Archives at Columbia]

Oral History Archives at Columbia

Oral History Archives at Columbia

6th Floor East Butler Library
535 West 114th Street
New York, NY 10027, USA
oralhist@library.columbia.edu
Established in 1948, the OHAC collections specialize in oral histories covering the arts, philanthropy, business, radio, publishing, filmmaking, medicine, science, public health, law, military, and architecture. We have interviews with individuals, as well as large-scale organizational interviews.

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Animal Advocates Oral History Collection, 1999-2004

14 volumes (Transcripts)
Abstract Or Scope
The Animal Advocates Oral History Collection contains fourteen interviews conducted between 1999 and 2004 with individuals who were involved in different areas of the movement to protect animals. The project sought to examine the genesis and development of ethical frameworks regarding the treatment of animals, the trajectories of different collective actions, how the movements of the 1970s and 1980s continued or differed from earlier movements for the treatment of animals, and the role that individuals played in shaping the movement. Aspects of animal protection discussed in the interviews include animal shelters, opposition to vivisection and scientific testing on animals, treatment of agricultural animals, and environmentalism. Common themes addressed include connections between violence towards animals and violence towards humans, connections with other social justice movements, vegetarianism and veganism, interactions between different organizations, and the religious and ethical backgrounds of narrators.
Top 3 results view all 16

Ann Cottrell Free, 1999 September 21, 1999 September 30, 1999 October 1, and 2000 July 25 Box cotrell free binder, box 4

Carter Luke, 2000 April 28 Box luke binder

Ethel Thurston, 2001 May 10 and 2001 May 11 Box thurston binder

Bill Weinberg sound recordings, 1992-2021, bulk 1992-2011

57 audiocassettes
Abstract Or Scope
Bill Weinberg is a journalist, political writer, activist, and radio personality. His work and activism has focused on human rights, indigenous movements, drug policy, the environment, the Middle East, and opposition to war and authoritarianism. The Bill Weinberg sound recordings feature 57 episodes of the show Moorish Orthodox Radio Crusade (MORC), which was broadcast on WBAI radio from 1988 to 2011. The collection's recordings date from Bill Weinberg's period as part of the show's collective from 1992 to 2011. Throughout its run, MORC covered a wide range of political, cultural, and spiritual topics. Some major themes addressed in the collection's episodes include ecology, indigenous movements, anarchism, the War on Drugs, United States imperialism, Latin America, North Africa, religion, New York City political and social movements, sustainable transportation, and gardening. The collection also contains an oral history interview with Weinberg that was taken by the curator when the collection was donated to the Oral History Archives at Columbia.

Chinese oral history project, 1958-1975

17,584 pages
Abstract Or Scope

Interviews document the lives of seventeen prominent figures in the Republic of China (1911-1949). Narrators discuss military affairs, politics, national and regional governance, education, economics, culture, transportation, and other topics. Military campaigns are a major topic of the collection. Narrators discuss the operations and impacts of the Northern Expedition (1928-2928), Second Sino-Japanese War/War of Resistance (1937-1945), and Chinese Civil War (1945-1949). Narrators discuss the practical matters of governing during a period of upheaval. They also discuss the politics of the era and entities such as the Kuomintang and Chinese Communist Party. Many narrators studied abroad in the United States and Europe. The collection gives insights into Chinese education and the experiences of Chinese nationals abroad, including observations from their travels. Several narrators worked as diplomats for the Republican government and offer insights into international affairs and world leaders of the mid-20th century.

Top 3 results view all 19

Cai, Zengji (Choy, Jun-ke), 蔡增基, 1970 341 pages

Chen, Guangfu (Chen, Kwang Pu; Chen, K.P.), 陳光甫, 1961 167 pages

Chinese oral history project collection, 1914-1989, bulk 1958-1980

37 Linear Feet
Abstract Or Scope
The Chinese oral history project collection (中國口述歷史項目檔案) provides a wealth of information on the development of the project and its interviews with eminent Chinese political figures abroad in the United States and Hong Kong from 1958 to 1980s. The completed interviews are described separately under the Chinese oral history project, while this collection provides context of creation for the interviews and additional historical documentation on interviewees. The highlights of the collection consist of the administrative subject files, correspondence, interview photographs and reports, transcript drafts, collected autobiographies and manuscripts, audio recording, and card files of names mentioned in the transcripts.

Columbia Armenian Oral History Archive, 1968-1977

6 Linear Feet
Abstract Or Scope

The Columbia Armenian Oral History Archive is an important collection of audio and video recordings of first-person accounts of the early and recent experiences of Armenians, recorded after they had immigrated to the United States. The collection consists of 138 interviews in Armenian, English, and Turkish languages with immigrants conducted by Vazken L. Parsegian during the 1950s and 1960s, focusing largely on the survivors' memories of their personal experiences of the abduction, deportation, imporisonment and massacre of Armenians and the destruction of Armenian communities under the Ottoman Empire in the first decades of the Twentieth century. The testimonies also recount the early formation of Armenian communities in various cities of United States and socio-economic conditions. The collection is comprised of 210 hours of sound recordings in the following formats: magnetic tape reels, compact cassettes, and WAV files and compact disks representing the content of the original tapes.

Cuban Voices oral history collection, 2004-2010

6740 pages
Abstract Or Scope

The Cuban Voices oral history collection is comprised of interviews conducted for the project of the same name. The project resulted in the publication of Elizabeth Dore's book How Things Fall Apart. The interviews are intended to engage in conversations with Cubans who lived through the transition to communist rule after the Cuban Revolution and experienced events of the following decades. The goal of the project, led by Dore, was not to interview people who have established themselves as public or political figures after the Revolution, but rather to generate a dialogue with ordinary citizens whose narratives do not appear in conventional narratives. Most of the interviewees, then, are not prominent personalities. They are professionals, campesinxs, teachers, sex workers, state employees, cooks, messengers, and people working illegally, among others.

Top 3 results view all 111

Oral history interview with Alfonso, 2005 Box 1

Oral history interview with Alicia, 2005 Box 1

Gail Mary Killian and Stephen Desroches sound recordings, 1970-2003

23 audiocassettes
Abstract Or Scope

The majority of the collection's interviews were taken by Gail Mary Killian and document her life in the 1970s-1980s as a woman living with Down syndrome in Eastern Massachusetts. Killian recorded her birthday starting in 1970, and many recordings capture the conversations that took place at these celebrations, which were attended by family members and neighbors. Topics discussed at these parties include music-related gifts received by Killian; rock music and Polish folk music; television shows and movies; employment opportunities for people with disabilities in the region; work at the United States Postal Service (her father's employer); and happenings in their local community. The family also sings together, both in English and Polish. Also included are recordings made by Killian during her daily life. Killian was an avid music fan, and she records thoughts on rock bands such as the Beatles, Journey, and Van Halen. Portions of the local New Bedford, MA radio program "Polish Happy Hour" are captured on tape.

Top 3 results view all 24

Helen Singing, 1973 1 audiocassettes Box ohac c9

Journey captured, 1981 1 audiocassettes Box ohac c9

Institute for Research on Women, Gender, and Sexuality Oral History Collection, 2014-2015

35 Volumes
Abstract Or Scope
The Institute for Research on Women, Gender, and Sexuality (IRWGS) at Columbia University is an interdisciplinary institute for feminist scholarship and education. It was established as the Institute for Research on Women and Gender (IRWAG) in 1987. Anticipating its 25th anniversary, the Institute for Research on Women, Gender, and Sexuality (IRWGS) approached the Columbia Center for Oral History Research (CCOHR) in 2012, about an oral history project to document the history of the department and the growth and development of feminism at Columbia. The IRWGS Oral History Project was conducted with funding from the President's Office and was the first project undertaken by CCOHR in its new home at the Interdisciplinary Center for Innovative Theory and Empirics (INCITE). Interviews with current and past directors of IRWGS, affiliated and allied faculty, administrators, and students were conducted between 2014 and 2015. The Institute for Research on Women, Gender, and Sexuality Oral History Project is comprised of interviews with 36 individuals involved in the founding and development of the Institute for Research on Women, Gender, and Sexuality (IRWGS) at Columbia University. Interviewers conducted these interviews over 68 sessions, creating over 90 hours of recordings. Nine of these sessions were recorded on video, and interviews have been transcribed. Interviewers were guided by a set of research questions, which emphasized the role of IRWGS as a political actor within the broader context of Columbia University, agitating for the inclusion of feminist analysis and practice. As the project progressed, questions expanded to explore issues of generation, activism, the developments within feminism(s), evidence of increasing support of IRWGS by the university, and the challenge of addressing diversity, sexuality and other forms of social difference theoretically and as professional practice.
Top 3 results view all 42

Alice Kessler-Harris, 2014 December 18 Box 2

Annie Barry, 2015 May 15 Box 1

Jeffrey H. Brodsky oral history collection, 1991-2021, bulk 2000-2012

237 Gigabytes
Abstract Or Scope
A born-digital work product collection of former journalist, oral historian, and OHMA grad Jeffrey Brodsky. Collection contains personal materials, audio files of a radio show, photographs and video of red carpet interviews, and materials related to Brodsky's time as a student in the Oral History Master's program at Columbia, including interviews (some partial, some complete) and related materials to his thesis title "My First Campaign," an exploration of political candidates' first political campaign.

New York Police Department Guardians Oral History Collection, 2015-2016

.75 linear feet
Abstract Or Scope
The fourteen interviews of the NYPD Guardians oral history collection document the history of the fraternal organization and the experiences of members as police officers in New York City. The New York Police Department Guardians Association was founded in 1943 and recognized by the NYPD as a fraternal organization in 1949. Over the years it has served African American officers and civilian employees of the NYPD by developing community; providing education and mentorship; advocating within the department; and taking legal action to combat discrimination in hiring and promotion. The narrators discuss the impact of the Guardians on officers' careers, the group's advocacy against discrimination in the NYPD, and developments in police work from the 1960s-2010s.
Top 3 results view all 16

Alicia C. Parker, 2015 November 5 Box 2

Annette Spellen, 2016 March 18 Box 2

Caudieu Cook, 2015 May 4 Box 1

Oral History Research Office microfiche, circa 1945-1989, 1973-1988

4 Linear Feet
Abstract Or Scope

The Oral History Research Office microfiche contains 1165 interviews and the Annual Reports of the OHRO from 1948-1975. The microfiche was published in six segments, the first being published in 1973 and the last in 1988. Microfiche was initially manufactured and sold by the Microfilming Corporation of America (MCA) and then by Meckler Publishing.

Top 3 results view all 1175

Annual Reports of the Oral History Research Office of Columbia University, 1948-1975, 1976

Phoenix House Foundation oral history collection, 2014-2015

183 Gigabytes
Abstract Or Scope
Phoenix House was founded in 1967 as a therapeutic community to treat addiction in an 85th Street apartment in New York City. In the following decades, Phoenix House expanded to locations throughout New York City and ten states. At the time of the interviews, Phoenix House was serving over 5,000 individuals and remained committed to supporting individuals and families by providing a wide range of services including prevention, early intervention, treatment, continuing care, and recovery support. The Phoenix House Oral History Collection documents three periods of Phoenix House's work: origins, growth, and established leadership. In the first period, spanning from 1967 to the 1970s, narrators detail the founding of a therapeutic community, the dynamics of this community, and the influences of other self-help drug treatment organizations such as Synanon on the program. In the growth period, narrators speak of opening up new facilities, and designing and launching new programs. Topics covered include the political and funding challenges of expanding Phoenix House's reach, increases in medical and mental health staff, and partnering with state departments of corrections to provide the Phoenix House program as an alternative to incarceration. In the final period, narrators describe changes in the therapeutic community model, further expansion of programs across the United States, acquisitions of competitors, new funding challenges, and transitions in leadership.
Top 3 results view all 33

Amy Singer, 2014 December 2 and 2015 February 4 and February 19 Box 3

Barry McCaffrey, 2015 April 2 Box 2

Carlos Pagan, 2014 August 11 and 2015 March 3 Box 3

Research Center for Arts and Culture Oral History Collection, 1990-1993

4 linear feet
Abstract Or Scope
The interviews of the Artist Career and Training Project were conducted by the Research Center for Arts and Culture at Columbia University from 1990 to 1993. The project sought to systematically analyze the career paths, training, and job satisfaction of artists, craftspeople, painters, actors, and related professionals, such as museum curators, critics, dealers, managers, directors, producers, and union representatives. The interviews address education, training, preparation to career entry, peers and colleagues, marketplace judgments, critical evaluation and public response, and career satisfaction and maturity. The study strove to include diverse participants in terms of gender, ethnicity, age, and stage of career. Other themes frequently discussed include the use of other jobs to supplement a career in the arts, aging, Actors' Equity, materials used in crafts, and the very meaning of having a career in the arts.

Thomas Iorio Stonewall Vets video recordings, 1994-1996

28 videocassettes (Hi 8)
Abstract Or Scope
The Thomas Iorio Stonewall Vets video recordings document LGBTQ culture and heritage in New York City in the mid-1990s. Some footage in the collection was ultimately used in Iorio's short film Stonewall: The March Forward. This film is also found in the collection. Iorio took these videos to connect with LGBTQ history after he came out in the 1990s. The footage has a mixture of oral history interviews and recorded events and activities. Major themes of the collection are the activities of the Stonewall Rebellion Veterans Association (SVA), the lives of unhoused LGBTQ individuals on the piers west of New York City, drag performance, and LGBTQ life in Manhattan in the 1990s. Figures featured include Sylvia Rivera, Williamson Lee Henderson (Willson Henderson), Stephen Van Cline, and Queen Allyson Ann Allante.
Top 3 results view all 37