Erin McCarthy, professor of history and cultural studies at Columbia College Chicago, has been awarded a 2006 Postsecondary Teaching Award from the Oral History Association. Dr. McCarthy will be honored at an awards banquet during the association's annual conference in Little Rock, Arkansas on October 28.
McCarthy has been teaching oral history at Columbia since the fall of 2000, training more than 250 arts and communications students in the fine art of the oral history interview. 'Dr. McCarthy is a real inspiration for me, says former student Victoria Malone, associate director of Columbia's Center for Arts Policy. 'She has a deep understanding of the link between storytelling in the field of oral history and in the arts ' that's what makes her approach so exciting. She encourages her students to think deeply about our cultural narrative ' why we tell the stories we tell ' and to synthesize history and the arts in creative ways that draw on their strengths. She's amazing.'
In her course, Oral History: The Art of The Interview, McCarthy introduces students to the theoretical and philosophical concerns in the practice of oral history, as well as various methods and uses of the technique. They read sample oral histories drawn from major events in U.S. History, from the Great Depression through the Vietnam War.
In addition to the theory, there is a major practicum component to the course in which students actually interview subjects using the standards and skills they have learned.
'It is important that the students understand that oral history is not simply recording the memories and stories of individuals,' explains McCarthy. 'There is a rigorous methodology to gathering oral histories and the interaction between the interviewer and the narrator is an intimate collaboration, each having their own specific role. The best way for the students to develop the necessary interviewing skills is through conducting fieldwork.'
So, in the spring of 2004 McCarthy established a partnership with the Hellenic Museum and Cultural Center in Chicago. Each term, students in the course conduct interviews with members of the Greek American community. For the past two years, this work has grown into an archive of community history and memory at the Hellenic Museum and it is that organization that nominated McCarthy for the award.
Dr. McCarthy's energy and unique teaching abilities have motivated her students to go above and beyond what is normally expected in a college-level oral history course,' says Elaine Thomopoulos, co-chair of the museum's oral history committee. 'She has developed a unique model of teaching oral history that should be emulated by other colleges and universities. We are indeed fortunate to have benefited from her talents, energy, and creativity and look forward to our continuing relationship.'
In the award letter, Rebecca Sharpless, president of the Oral History Association, notes McCarthy's 'exemplary work,' particularly noting the use of 'multimedia technologies to inspire'students to greater creativity and to make these [oral histories]'available to a wider audience.
'The committee was impressed by your thorough and thoughtful scholarship,' Sharpless continued. '[And] by your effective efforts to engage Columbia College Chicago students in historical inquiry and by your willingness to share your experience and insights with colleagues'.The lasting contributions you and your students have made to the archives of the Hellenic Museum and Cultural Center in Chicago further attest to the merit your work deserves.'
McCarthy received her Ph.D. in U.S. History from Loyola University Chicago. In addition to her dedication to oral history, she is an acknowledged expert in the field of sports history. McCarthy was a featured lecturer at the Field Museum for the Baseball as America exhibit (2003) and presented several lectures on Sport and Sexuality during that academic year.