Columbia MA Oral History Open House

Posted November 12, 2020 by Judith under Uncategorized

There is still time to sign-up for the Columbia University virtual open house on November 16th 9:00-11:00am.

Open Houses Include:

  • An information session

  • A chance to virtually meet OHMA students and alums

  • Presentation by OHMA Alum: Alissa Rae Funderburk

  • A mini-interviewing workshop, taught by OHMA Director Amy Starecheski

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.

Prospective students are also welcome to meet with the OHMA director, Dr. Amy Starecheski, 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.

Written by Judith