History Project Examines Sept. 11th Aftermath

On Thursday, September 13th, Columbia University's Mary Marshall Clark, discussed her work as director of one of the largest oral history projects documenting the events and aftermath of September 11, 2001. The event was sponsored by the Fischer Institute.

Students, faculty and staff met Dr. Clark for dinner at the Black Tavern Inn and then proceeded to Davis Hall for further discussion about the 600 hours of interviews completed for the project.

In addition, Dr. Clark discussed the uniqueness of an oral historian's methodology and stressed that oral history is in essence storytelling, a rather unique way for us to reflect on and recall important events both in history and in our lives.

In the seven weeks following September 11, Clark's project team interviewed nearly 200 people, including eyewitnesses, survivors, rescue workers, volunteers, and others who lived and worked within an approximate six-block area around ground zero. Fifty of those interviewed worked in the World Trade Center. In addition, the team interviewed 50 Muslims, 10 Sikhs, and over 60 Latinos representing many different countries of origins. They also interviewed artists whose lives and works were affected by September 11th.

In analyzing the interviews, Clark's team was especially interested in understanding how individual and social memory is constructed. Specfically:

• How did the media and government help to define impressions and interpretations of the September 11th events?
• What was the impact of September 11th on individual relationships and on social networks?
• What did the terrorist attack mean to immigrants and refugees who looked the way officials portrayed "the enemy"?"

The project is funded by the National Science Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundations, and Columbia University.