Author Archives: Kimberly Springer
Oral History and Storytelling Workshops from OHMA
The Oral History Master’s Program at Columbia has released their fall line-up of workshops. This year’s theme, Oral History and Storytelling, considers storytelling as an underused tool in academic oral history practice.
From workshop, “Finding Fathers: A Cautionary Tale for Oral Historians”
Visit OHMA’s website for workshop details and featured speakers.
September 12, 2019
Europe according to Auschwitz: Experiments from the Laboratory of Reportage
September 19, 2019
Newest Americans: Stories from the Global City
September 26, 2019
Oral History and Indigenous Peoples: Rethinking Oral History, Methods, Politics and Theories
October 3, 2019
Finding Fathers: A Cautionary Tale for Oral Historians
October 24, 2019
Standing With Sky Woman: A conversation on cultural fluency
November 7, 2019
“Necessary as Water”: Queer Black Ceremony and the Depth of Listening
In case you missed this post about the Barnard children’s letters, stop by the RBML’s cube case exhibit of select materials.
How to tame an opossum…and other childhood preoccupations through the Barnard children’s letters
The RBML is located on the 6th floor of Butler Library in Columbia University’s Morningside campus.
New exhibition | Mirror of Humanity: Seeing Ourselves in Playing Cards
Playing cards were once condemned as “the Devil’s picture book,” gaudy bits of pasteboard that encouraged sins such as time-wasting and gambling. Mirror of Humanity: Seeing Ourselves in Playing Cards instead approaches playing cards as mirrors which retain images of past perceptions of ourselves and others.
Whether commercial products made to appeal to buyers, or fanciful gifts created as souvenirs or advertising, playing cards are objects people at every social level, and in many parts of the world, use regularly. Mirror of Humanity focuses on imagery in playing cards and how they reflect the creators’ alliances and biases.
Cards made in Europe and the United States from the 16th to 21st century are arranged in categories reflecting positions on education, gender, race, celebrity, scenic views, war, politics and political satire.
Click through to hear select songs about playing cards and wheelin’ & dealin’! https://tinyurl.com/playing-card-playlist
The exhibition opens Augusts 26th and runs through January 31, 20120. Please join us on November 11 for a gallery tour, followed by a reception at Hex & Co., where we will announce the winner of a playing card design competition.
The RBML’s Fall 2019 Exhibitions
Remembering the Chicago Defender’s Influence
Noted African-American newspaper, the Chicago Defender, announced earlier this summer that it will cease print production. The weekly paper, founded in 1905, played a crucial role in providing news for scores of migrating African-Americans. With the rise of industrialization, job creation and seeking greater opportunities than in the South, migrants relocated to the North, especially Chicago. The Defender was a resource for establishing black political, social and cultural roots in the city.
A notable number of reporters and editors interviewed for the Oral History Archives’ Black Journalists Collection reflect on the Chicago Defender’s role in their training and influence in creating a black press in American communities.
Panel from Bungleton Green, which ran in the Chicago Defender
Blacks in urban centers used newspapers like the Defender to acclimate to cities and new social mores. One feature newspapers used to convey etiquette and ethics for city living was the cartoon Bungleton Green.
In Passing | Oral history with Justice John Paul Stevens
Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens died this week at the age of 99. Nominated by Richard Nixon, Justice Stevens ruled on several pivotal cases that have shaped environmental policy, presidential elections and campaign financing.
The Columbia Center for Oral History interviewed Justice Stevens for its project, The Rule of Law. The project documents the state of human and civil rights in the post-9/11 world.
Read the transcript online to hear Justice Stevens’ reflections from the bench on Citizens United, capital punishment, affirmative action, shutting down Guantanamo Bay, the 2012 election and the use of advertising among other topics.
Oral history interview with Justice John Paul Stevens, Oral History Archives at Columbia (PDF)
In Passing | Composer, arranger Sid Ramin dies at 100
Award-winning composer, arranger and orchestrator Sid Ramin died this week at age 100. He was best known for his work as orchestrator for several prominent Broadway productions, including West Side Story (1957), Gypsy (1959), and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962). He also composed and arranged scores for films and television programs, including Candid Camera, All My Children (for which he won a Daytime Emmy), The Milton Berle Show, and the made-for-television 1973 remake of Miracle on 34th Street.
Ramin was also well known for composing “Music to Watch Girls By,” written as a commercial jingle for Diet Pepsi and first released in 1966 as a single by Bob Crewe. Have a listen.
See the finding aid for Ramin’s collected papers here in the RBML.
The Oral History Archives announces a new book series
The Oral History Archives at Columbia and the Columbia Center for Oral History Research are joining forces with Columbia University Press, the Columbia Center for Oral History and the Interdisciplinary Center for Innovative Theory and Empirics to produce a new series of books on oral history methodology and practice.
Pride Month and history in the RBML collections
Photo by Jiroe on Unsplash
Getting to tell your own story is a gift, but it means that you have to contend with other people’s stories, and I guess that can mean arguing, maybe for 50 years straight. And that’s O.K. – Who Threw the First Brick at Stonewall? Let’s Argue About It
The RBML’s archival, manuscript, oral history and University Archives are full of materials from people who were out and proud, recently revealed queer collections and likely materials and people still somewhat closeted by historical forces and past archival practices rooted in homophobia.
You’re invite during PRIDE month, and every other month, to explore the collections we have on offer that begin to demonstrate the range of LGBTQIA people, voices and experiences. Some materials to start with include, but aren’t limited to:
- ephemera related to the LGBT movement in Croatia,
- the Alexander Gumby papers,
- the Ben Duncan and Dick Chapman papers,
- the oral histories of Bayard Rustin, Harry Hay, Rosalyn Fraad Baxandall,
- the Columbia LGBT Records, 1961-2013,
- and the Robert L. Wilbur Protest Literature Collection.
Ephemera relating to the LGBT movement in Croatia // A collection of leaflets and cards and one button relating to the LGBT movement in Croatia. Several of the items were issued by Kontra or Iskorak, both based in Zagreb. // http://tiny.cc/rbml_CU_croatia_lgbt
And, by all means, if you come across items in our collections that show evidence of LGBTQIA histories, let us know so that we can update our records accurately.