Stay updated on news, activities, and new projects from the Oral History Lab.
EnglishEspañolEnglish DPOE-N—in collaboration with UPR Caribe Digital—hosted its third in-person workshop, Introducción al Desarrollo y Preservación de Historias Orales, at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras campus on May 28 to 30, 2025. The workshop was taught by Oscar Zamora Flores (CENTRO Archivist), José Moralez Benítez (UPRM librarian), and Natalia Hernández Mejías (OHL Librarian)…
EnglishEspañolEnglish Mi María book narrator and OHL Community Programs Manager, Zaira Arvelo Alicea, will help facilitate the Voice of Witness (VOW) workshop, “Narrator Experience + Storytelling Ethics.” As the first session in a three-part VOW series on Oral History Storytelling Skills and Ethics, this online workshop explores “ethics-driven, empathy-based approach to oral history storytelling, with a focus on trauma-informed practices…
EnglishEspañolEnglish OHL Librarian, Natalia Hernandez Mejías, and former OHL intern, Sonny Weeks, presented a paper, “Protecting Oral Histories: Navigating Privacy Challenges in Digital Environments,” at the 2025 ACURIL conference, the biggest library conference in the Caribbean. In addition, Hernandez Mejías also shared a poster titled “Digital Humanities in Puerto Rico: Initiatives and Collaborations of the…
EnglishEspañolEnglish OHL Director Ricia Chansky delivered a keynote address at the International Auto/Biography Association (IABA) Conference 2025, “Story as Resistance: Signs of Life in the Great Silencing.” She also offered a workshop—”Ethics in Interviewing”—and was on a panel for the IABA Students and New Scholars Network and a panel celebrating the 40th anniversary of the journal…
EnglishEspañolEnglish On May 24, the film La Perla en que vivimos… was screened at Mayagüez’s Western Plaza Cinema as part of a film festival organized by CineMásCorto. La Perla en que vivimos… is a short documentary by award-winning filmmaker Guillermo Gómez Álvarez produced by the Oral History Lab in collaboration with Colectivo PerlArte with support…
EnglishEspañolEnglish Jaquelina Alvarez and Ricia Anne Chansky were interviewed by Foro Colegial about the announcement of their grant of over $1.8M from the Mellon Foundation and what work they are undertaking at the Oral History Lab. Español Jaquelina Álvarez y Ricia Anne Chansky fueron entrevistadas por Foro Colegial sobre el reciente anuncio de su subvención de…
EnglishEspañolEnglish The Water Protectors, a short documentary produced by the Oral History Lab, has been selected for screening in the fourth edition of Cine Pa’ las Calles. The event will take place on May 17, 2025, at Tramboliko in Mayagüez. It is an open space–some chairs will be provided, but attendees can also bring their…
EnglishEspañolEnglish The short film La Perla en que vivimos…, created by award-winning filmmaker Guillermo Gómez Álvarez in collaboration with Colectivo PerlArte, has been accepted to the CineMásCorto film festival and will be shown in Caguas, San Juan, and Mayaguez in the month May. To see the official schedule, see the CineMásCorto website. This film, produced by the Oral History Lab and…
EnglishEspañolEnglish Ricia Chansky with Edcel Cintrón González, UPRM MAEE student who is now a doctoral candidate at ISU Director of the OHL Ricia Anne Chansky has been named the 2025 Senator John W. Maitland, Jr. Commitment to Education Award Winner by her alma mater Illinois State University. This award is presented to honor legislator officials,…
EnglishEspañolEnglish The short film Nuestro Pedazo de Tierra will be shown on April 22 at Noche de Cortos, hosted by Film Nights Puerto Rico. Nuestro Pedazo de Tierra was made by UPRM students enrolled in documentary filmmaking courses (CINE 4016) taught by award-winning filmmaker Guillermo Gómez Álvarez in the 2022-23 academic year. Exploring food insecurity, the film uses historic…