The history department is pleased to offer a pilot oral history track for the senior thesis. In fall 2019, we will partner with the Columbia oral history office and IMATS to conduct workshops that will provide students with the intellectual and technical tools necessary to conduct and transcribe oral histories. Students will read about and discuss oral history as a methodological approach and will learn the technical skills of formulating questions, using recording equipment, and transcribing interviews. They will also do background research to select an individual or group that will be the subject of their interviews. In spring 2020, students will conduct their oral history research. By the end of the semester, students will produce oral histories that will be deposited in an archive. They will also write a reflection essay about the process of conducting oral history in lieu of a conventional senior thesis.
Interested students should sign up for HIST BC3391 in the fall and HIST BC3392 in the spring, as with the other senior thesis writers. If you are interested in the oral history track as your capstone experience, please email Professors Premilla Nadasen and Dorothy Ko.
