Step One: Interviews
Please choose three people to interview for this assignment. Before the interview, based on your reading and listening so far, prepare a few questions to ask each person, focusing on how the recession is affecting their lives or the lives of people they know. You might ask them this question generally, and then if they are not coming up with a lot to say, you could ask more specific questions, such as whether the recession if affecting their work situation, their educational plans, their family life, their purchasing choices, their housing situation, etc.
Take notes on what each person says. You will not need to turn these notes in, but you'll need to refer to them in completing this week's assignment.
Step Two: Paper
After you have completed your interviews, write a 3-4 page paper (typed, double spaced) that addresses the following questions/issues:
Summarize main lessons learned from your interviews. You should not simply summarize what each person said, but rather, put the information together and draw conclusions about it. (For example, do not write, "Mary said that she is going back to school because of the recession. Bob said he is staying in school longer because of the recession. Don said he already has the degree he needs for his job but would go back to school now if he didn't." Instead, say "All the people I interviewed seemed to agree that education was important to economic success during times of recession; two were in school for this reason and one stated that he would be as well if needed for his job.")
Incorporate important points learned from the textbook reading and the This American Life program (e.g., to explain the responses you got in your interviews, or to show a contrast between what sociologists think and what your interviewees are actually experiencing).
Discuss your own experiences with the recession and how you are preparing yourself to succeed in this changing economy.