While I was recovering from eating so much on Turkey Day I read “The Life Story Interview”. I learned a lot from reading this. I learned that interviewing is a lot like writing/reading a novel. Novels have chapters, going from one story to the next. They give details but still leave some things out for the reader's imagination to fill in. They also include the events leading up to the climax.Good and bad events, they don’t just include the positive things they include the negative things too. So I definitely see the similarities between the two.
I also learned that it is important to focus on the past, present, and the future. To not just dwell in the past, whether it was a good past or not. I found it interesting that while interviewing you should go through the negatives. Like regret, loss, and a challenge that was hard to overcome. I found this to match what we see on tv. Whenever a celebrity gets interviewed they focus mostly on their problems. And after discussing the struggles with their problems they talk about things they had to do to overcome these problems and what the future looks like now that they have overcome it. I found this article to be very informational and helpful. I am glad I read it!
Citation Here:
McAdams, Dan P. "The Life Story Interview :: Foley Center :: Northwestern University." The Life Story Interview :: Foley Center :: Northwestern University. Northwestern University, 2008. Web. 29 Nov. 2015.
Hey Lydia.
ReplyDeleteYes, so much Thanksgiving food. I hosted it so we still have leftovers. So many leftovers.
The idea that your video can be like any other novel gives you a structure to build on. I like that you see that connection. Now that you have that model in your head, what chapter would you see your first interview being? What conflict or problem did you learn about? What would be the next logical chapter? Or, what would be the complete opposite chapter that would bring more drama to your story? (For instance, Spectrum is a group downtown that works with homeless teens. Many of those kids come out of bad foster situations. What if you interviewed one of those young people? I bet they could tell you a whole different story about foster families.)
In addition to who to interview, you now have ideas about what to ask when you get the interview. Could you brainstorm ideas from this video and add them to the shared document about interview questions? I think everyone could benefit from your good thinking on this.
Lastly, I am wondering if I missed the second part of your blog. The prompt for that was to read the other group members' blogs and then post about that as well. Let me know if you posted it somewhere else or if you need me to resend it. (It was from Tim originally.)
Keep up the good work. Talk with you on Sunday!
Laurie
Hi Lydia,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Sean I am going be reading your blogs and giving feedback. And yes, I ate a fair bit of turkey on Thanksgiving but was down at my brother’s house in DC and unfortunately do not have any left overs like my colleague Laurie.
It is great that you read “The Life Story Interview” because it a comprehensive guide to getting to the interesting and meaningful parts of a life. I think that if you ask one question from A to E you will have a lot of good stuff. Although maybe B deserves a few. Make sure to avoid asking yes or no questions, as these will not help anyone. Just today I observed one of my students interview another student with essentially nothing but yes or no questions. You can imagine how little information he got from his subject and how bored they both were. This is not to say that you should ask leading questions (i.e How awful was that time…) but ask questions that give the interviewee some space to open up.
Do you have any idea how many questions you will be asking and to whom? I don’t want to overwhelm you with tips and pointers on conducting interviews so I will leave it at this.
Good luck!
Sean
Hi Lydia,
ReplyDeleteI want to respond to this excerpt of your entry: "[Interviews] give details but still leave some things out for the reader's imagination to fill in. They also include the events leading up to the climax.Good and bad events, they don’t just include the positive things they include the negative things too. So I definitely see the similarities between the two."
I am glad that you have picked up on the idea that an interview -- like a story -- should look at all angles. Another of the options Tim selected for this post's reading was by Ira Glass. One thing I admire about much of Glass' work is that he always tells a story from several angles and considers different perspectives. That being said, his work is much more like listening to a story than a news segment, so it's not entirely objective. This is what makes it unique. To that end, I am glad that you have picked up on the reality that interviews will unfold both "positives" and "negatives." The skilled interviewer is able to take tough moments and and guide the interviewee through those moments in a way that respects his emotions while not stunting the flow of information.
I am also glad that you have picked up on the idea of carrying your interviews beyond the "past." I wonder what questions you can form before your interviews that will take your conversations into the future. The story you tell will be fascinating, but equally (if not more) important will be the implications your story has for the future.
Lastly, like Laurie, I'm wondering where the second half of your blog is? As you can see, I am late in responding to your blog -- proof that it's never to late to catch up. I'd encourage you to take a look at the assignment again, which will push you to reflect on the work you are doing with your group and think about where you are headed.
Thanks for sharing. I was impressed with your ability to glean critical information from the reading.
Courtney