College Oral Histories, 2022

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  Interview with Ames Hawkins

  Peter Midwa

  Ames Hawkins (they/them) was born in Sterling Heights, Michigan, and grew up in the Grosse Pointe suburb of Detroit. They are an English and Creative Writing professor at Columbia, having taught for 24 years, and at the time of this interview they held the title of Assistant Provost. In addition to teaching at Columbia College Chicago, they have also taught at Bowling Green State, University of Michigan, and Wayne State, where they acquired a Bachelor’s in American Culture, a Master’s in Popular Culture, and a PHD in English. Hawkins is an arts activist and a queer writer, authoring the book These Are Love(d) Letters, with their work frequently appearing in several LGBTQ focused collections of literature. They consider themselves a “trans elder” amongst many of their queer students. Currently, they are interim director of the creative writing department at Columbia, and they continue to teach queer literature, creative writing, and creative nonfiction. Length: 57:53 minutes. Transcript: 23 pages.

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  Interview with Carmelo Estrrich

  Peter Midwa

  Carmelo Estrrich (he/him) is from San Juan, Puerto Rico. He earned a BA in Film Studies and an MA in Spanish from the Pennsylvania State University and a PhD in Spanish from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He taught a study abroad course in Mexico before arriving at Columbia College Chicago, where he became one of the founders of the Cultural Studies program. He is currently an Associate Professor of Humanities and teaches Spanish, History, and Interdisciplinary Humanities. Hsi research focuses on cultural and artistic production in Latin America and his writings are included in Spanish writing and vocabulary textbooks. Most notably, Estrrich wrote Star Wars Multiverse during the COVID pandemic. In it, he explores real world parallels that can be drawn from the fictional narrative, including topics such as discrimination, xenophobia, and systematic oppression. He is an active voice in the Chicago Latino community, having been the faculty advisor for the Latino Alliance since 1998. He currently is a committee member of the Chicago Latino Film Festival. Length: 63:51 minutes. Transcript: 24 pages.

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  Interview with Colbey Reid

  Peter Midwa

  Colbey Reid (she/her) was born in Hawaii. As the daughter of a military man, she has lived in places like Japan, Germany, and Florida. She earned a BA in English and French Literature at the University of Florida, and an MA and PhD in English Literature from the University of Washington. Before coming to Columbia College Chicago, she worked at York College in Pennsylvania and North Carolina State University. Reid is a professor of Fashion Studies and the director of the School of Fashion. She also founded the school’s Fashion Lab in 2019. Outside of teaching, Reid has written articles on fashion and environmentalism, and authored books, her most recent is Designing the Domestic Posthuman. This book explores aesthetic intelligence, detailing how humans can shape everyday commodities for the future. Length: 65:29 minutes. Transcript: 23 pages.

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  Interview with Duncan MacKenzie

  Peter Midwa

  Duncan MacKenzie (he/him) was raised in Calgary, a city in Alberta, Canada. He is currently Interim Chair of Design and the Chair & Associate Professor of Art and Art History. Before becoming a teacher, he created items for the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, making materials for the manufacturing exhibit, including a model train. He continues this creative practice at his career at Columbia, teaching drawing, printmaking, and silk-screening classes. MacKenzie has a BFA in art from the Art University of Calgary and an MFA from The Art Institute. Through collaboration with Christian Kuras, he has created a collection of artwork, shown internationally, and at art fairs such as EXPO Chicago and PULSE Miami. He also is a founder of the podcast Bad at Sports, where he discusses contemporary art and interviews the creative minds of the Midwest, producing more than 550 interviews. Length: 52:09 minutes. Transcript: 19 pages.

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  Interview with Erin McCarthy

  Peter Midwa

  Erin McCarthy (she/her) is from the South Side of Chicago and grew up in Wilmette, Illinois. She holds a BA in history from the University of Illinois, and an MA and a PhD in history from Loyola University. She was the first person in her family to complete a college degree. Currently, she is an associate professor in the Humanities, History, and Social Sciences Department at Columbia College Chicago. McCarthy’s oral history class and its students have produced more than 400 transcribed oral history interviews for collections such as the Veterans History Project, the Chicago Anti-Apartheid Movement Project, and Photography at Columbia College Chicago. She has also written papers on oral history, published articles in Oral History Review and her essay “Oral History in the Undergraduate Classroom: Getting Students into History” is included in Preparing the Next Generation of Oral Historians: an Anthology of Oral History Educators. She states that oral history creates knowledge and offers insight into people’s individual experiences. Besides teaching oral history at Columbia College Chicago, McCarthy also teaches sports history and history after the 1930s. Length: 62:13 minutes. Transcript: 21 pages.

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  Interview with Natasha Egan

  Peter Midwa

  Natasha Egan (she/her) grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She has served as the executive director of the Museum of Contemporary Photography since 2011, and prior to that, she was its associate director and curator. At Columbia College Chicago, she teaches photography and humanities. She also attended Columbia College Chicago as a student, receiving two degrees: an MA in museum studies and an MFA in photography. She has served as guest curator for the FotoFest Biennial in Houston, the United States pavilion curator for the Photo Dubai Exhibition and guest curator for the Lianzhou Photography Biennial in China and has received travel grants to Korea and Germany where she served as a freelance curator. Exhibitions she has curated at the Museum of Contemporary Photography include Alienation and Assimilation: Contemporary Images and Installations from the Republic of Korea and Andrea Robbins and Max Becher: The Transportation of Place. She has written essays for several cultural art publications. Besides her degrees from Columbia College Chicago, she also earned a Certificate in Photography from the University of Washington, and a bachelor’s degree in Asian Studies from Puget Sound. Length: 60:50 minutes. Transcript: 22 pages.