Interview paper
- TOPIC: Interview someone from a culture different than your own. Someone outside of the class, outside of your immediate family.
- The paper is not focussed on the other person's country of origin and the various cultural traditions they have, although that will be a fascinating addition or contrasting element to write about, THE PAPER IS ABOUT AN INDIVIDUAL and their experiences coping with other cultures; how they deal with dislocation, reculturization, or de-culturization; or alienation and marginality. - Ask these 5 questions: (you can ask more, but at least these 5)
1. What was your childhood like? (ex: where did you grow up, how many in your family, was it a happy childhood or a series of disasters)
2. What are you doing now, in the present (job, lifestyle, career, etc.)
3. What are the problems or challenges you deal with (money, health, family, etc)
4. Who are the people you usually associate with (at work, at play, friends, neighbors)
5. Where are you going ( to what kind of future, what plans for your life)
STRUCTURE OF PAPER
a). INTRODUCTION: very brief description of assignment, purpose in writing the paper, how did you pick this person
b). SETTING and Context: where did the interview take place, under what circumstances (ex: phone, online chat, in person ; in a room, in a cafe)
c). INFO about the person: where are they from, where do they live now, age, sex, did they immigrate, etc Always refer to this person as "K". That is the standard anonymous single case study name. Let the person being interviewed know that they can speak freely because their real name will not appear anywhere.
d). CONCLUSION: this is where you make a statement, reflecting on the experience, seeing the big picture, placing K's situation in terms of evolving culture and identity. What did you learn about them, about the process, about yourself in relation to their experiences, and the major cultural differences.