Conducting the Interview
Chapter three of the article “Like It was” talks about potential topics that could be used for oral history. This article gave me a better understanding of the type of people I could consider interviewing. I found it very interesting that the article states, “you don’t need to admire your subject, but it helps to have some kind of strong feeling” (32). When I think about doing an interview such as this, it never occurred to me that we could choose a topic that we are against. As long as we feel strongly connection with the subject, it does not have to be something that we necessarily agree with. After reading this section, it sparked an idea in my mind about doing something in which I feel strongly about and interviewing the narrator who has a completely different view from myself. I think this type of interview could be very engaging for both the interviewer and narrator. By interviewing someone with a different belief, it will allow me to think of more productive questions to ask the person.
Finding the appropriate questions to ask the narrator could be challenging. It is important to get underneath the surface of the questions so the narrator will be able to give a clear, detailed answer. Before thinking of in-depth questions, the article says that it is important to write down reasons why we chose the particular person to interview. This statement made a lot of sense to me. Why would we just randomly pick a person to interview without asking ourselves “why did I chose this person?” The interviewer has to strike an interest with the narrator or they will only be able to touch the surface of the oral history interview.
Chapter three of the article “Like It was” talks about potential topics that could be used for oral history. This article gave me a better understanding of the type of people I could consider interviewing. I found it very interesting that the article states, “you don’t need to admire your subject, but it helps to have some kind of strong feeling” (32). When I think about doing an interview such as this, it never occurred to me that we could choose a topic that we are against. As long as we feel strongly connection with the subject, it does not have to be something that we necessarily agree with. After reading this section, it sparked an idea in my mind about doing something in which I feel strongly about and interviewing the narrator who has a completely different view from myself. I think this type of interview could be very engaging for both the interviewer and narrator. By interviewing someone with a different belief, it will allow me to think of more productive questions to ask the person.
Finding the appropriate questions to ask the narrator could be challenging. It is important to get underneath the surface of the questions so the narrator will be able to give a clear, detailed answer. Before thinking of in-depth questions, the article says that it is important to write down reasons why we chose the particular person to interview. This statement made a lot of sense to me. Why would we just randomly pick a person to interview without asking ourselves “why did I chose this person?” The interviewer has to strike an interest with the narrator or they will only be able to touch the surface of the oral history interview.