In May 2026, a participant at the inaugural COHDS Summer Institute memorably asked: “Where is the joy in oral history?” In taking inspiration from this question, the formidable program committee of this year’s 13th Emerging Scholars Symposium curated a set of conversations that were inspiring, intellectually vibrant, and infused with joy.
The day-long gathering of emerging scholars of our community of oral history practitioners is always one of the highlights of our year at COHDS. This year’s symposium fell into our 20th anniversary year and was attended by a record number of participants. Close to eighty delegates joined us over the course of the day to listen to eighteen wonderfully rich conference presentations and two memorable keynote addresses.
As so often during our gatherings, the Sunroom and Moonroom witnessed both laughter and tears. Shahrzad Arshadi, whose vital contributions to COHDS now span close to two decades, had us in tears when she introduced us to “The Soul of The Soul” – a Quiltmaking/ Storytelling collective, founded by three feminist and social justice activists from the Middle East in November 2023 to weave stories, memories, and voices. “With each stitch,” she said, “we try to bear witness and breathe life into an untold and unfinished story.” But there was much laughter too, punctuating talks and Q&A periods and carrying over into animated hallway and luncheon conversations.
Throughout the day, I was struck by the joyous energy that panelists, organizers, and attendees brought to the sessions; the brilliant quality of research talks; and the care which the program committee had invested into every aspect of the day. Eight hours after we had stepped out of the elevators on the tenth floor of the Library Building, the program committee delivered its closing remarks. They did so as a collective, as befits a truly collaborative work of curation:
“Today, we were steeped in joy. Joy that is community, love, nostalgia. Joy that can be found also in grief, that is actually related to grief and difficult circumstances, joy that is resistance. We learned about joy through art and creative works, through personal and family stories, from the perspective of different cultural practices, from different countries and diaspora communities, and, of course, through the practice of oral history and storytelling. Joy is commonality through difference. Joy is light and it is also so heavy. It can be created with very little, in impossible situations. We are all leaving extremely inspired – and, we hope, carrying joy in all its complexity.”
Our heartfelt thanks to Autumn Beals, Stanislava Boiarskaia, Nico Contreras, Franklin R. Bonivento van Grieken, Mairéad Filgate, Derek Xavier Garcia, Cassandra Marsillo, Tesfa “Aki” Peterson, Sona Pogossian, and Polina Shubina!
Barbara Lorenzkowski, Lead Co-Director, COHDS
