Oral History Summer Institute

Biannually, the Columbia Center for Oral History Research sponsors a Summer Institute in New York City, which brings together oral historians, scholars, activists, and others for advanced conversation about the theory and practice of oral history. Participants work with the Center’s world-class staff, network with oral historians from around the world and go to exhibits in New York City. Each year we focus on a different theme that reflects our work from throughout the past year.


 

Illustration from the Baldwin-Emerson Elders Project, which will be featured in the 2025 Oral History Summer Institute.


2025 Oral History Summer Institute

Speaking Up for Democracy: Oral History and Political Change
July 14 to 18/19, 2025, New York City

The Columbia Center for Oral History Research is welcoming applications for the 2025 Oral History Summer Institute.

This year’s institute, Speaking Up for Democracy: Oral History and Political Change, invites practitioners, researchers, activists, and leaders interested in combining forces to document and disseminate ideas about how oral history can serve to promote political and social change. Led by a team directed by Mary Marshall Clark, our presenters and facilitators will promote discussions in small groups based on shared interests and themes.

The Summer Institute will convene for five days (July 14–18) with an additional workshop on hands-on techniques and implementation on Saturday, July 19, 2025. Though we are not offering housing, we will provide prospective fellows with a list of low-cost hotels on the Upper West Side and in Harlem.

The 2025 Summer Institute will explore how oral history strengthens democracy through presentations of key CCOHR and Incite Institute projects. Drawing from two decades of work, we'll examine initiatives ranging from our September 11, 2001, documentation to the Guantanamo: Rule of Law human rights project. Recent work includes the Obama Presidency Oral History and the Baldwin-Emerson Elders Project (Elders Project), which investigates memory, culture, and gender in minoritized communities. The Summer Institute will also feature our current oral history project on Carnegie Corporation's Democracy program.

Specifically, we will focus on project design, implementation, and analysis. Additionally, we will explore different interviewing methodologies across projects with different goals. We are also excited to share new web-based platforms for disseminating oral history, including the award-winning Elders Project archive and Obama Presidency Oral History archive.

Over the course of the week, attendees will participate in workshops and panels that address the role of the “political” at different stages of oral history projects. Drawing from multiple projects documenting long-term and immediate crises in democracy, we will highlight the role that oral history and generative dialogue can play in restoration, repair, and reparation.

Applying to the Oral History Summer Institute

  • Priority deadline: February 17th, 11:59 PM ET

  • General deadline: February 28th, 11:59 PM ET

  • Early decision: March 7th

  • Final decision: March 14th

We encourage applications from people using oral history to explore political change in a variety of ways: practicing oral historians developing new project ideas; junior scholars of all disciplines eager to use oral history in larger projects; civil society leaders looking to grasp how oral history can fortify philanthropic and social change programs; activists seeking to document acts of political change. These are just examples—tell us in the application how you’re using oral history and what it would mean for you to explore the relationship between oral history and political change.

If you have a current project, please submit a brief description of it during the application process. These will be reviewed by CCOHR staff and peer-reviewed during the optional training workshop. If your goal is to develop a new project, please submit a brief proposal-type statement of your ideal project. This will be useful to us in developing thematic discussions.

  • Tuition fees for the Summer Institute are $1,000 USD. This fee does not include accommodations.

    To support participants, we are also offering a limited number of partial and full tuition scholarships.

  • The Summer Institute convenes in and around Columbia University’s Morningside Heights campus in New York City.

  • We are not offering housing, though we will provide prospective fellows with a list of low-cost hotels on the Upper West Side and in Harlem.

  • We welcome all levels of experience—ranging from seasoned practitioners to those who are interested in learning how to incorporate oral history into their research, organizing, or art.

    Regardless of experience level, participants will have an opportunity to expand their ability to conceptualize, build, manage, and conduct oral history work. Those with ongoing projects or project ideas will have opportunities to workshop their ideas with the cohort and faculty at Columbia.

  • We select a diverse cohort of participants, including students, academics, organizers, and artists.

    Often participants attend the Institute as an opportunity to break through an impasse in their work, expand their professional network, and sharpen their skills.

If you have additional questions about the Oral History Summer Institute, please reach out to Mary Marshall Clark.

Looking for our graduate program in oral history? Check out Columbia’s Oral History Master of Arts Program.