The Abbreviated Life Story Interview

a tactical approach to oral history interviewing

Brooke Bryan | Antioch College2015 “Catching Stories” Ohio Humanities Oral History Institute at Kenyon College

bbryan@antiochcollege.org

Thus, before embarking on a busy interview schedule one needs to be

oriented to one's question or notion in such a strong manner that one does not get easily carried away with interviews that go everywhere and nowhere. ~Max

van Manen

The ‘abbreviated life story’ interview model is just one example of how to

structure the interview space.

Developed over a few years of project coordination, it can be a

resource for student and volunteer interviewers who join a project with subject matter interest/expertise but

little methodological training.

The abbreviated life story model suggests interviewers frame their questions into six domains: • the introductory lead• early life/context• the Purposeful Turn toward the

theme• Depth Questions• the Reflective Turn towards impact &

meaning• and the Wrap-up

The Lead

Reflective Turn: towards

implications and meaning

Purposeful Turn: towards

the topicDEPTH QUESTIONS

Early Life

Wrap-Up

The LeadO After sound checks, always start an oral history

interview with a lead that establishes the identity of interviewer and interviewee, the place and date, and implicit consent to participate in the stated project for the stated purpose.

O Your lead will be directly related to your project statement & informed consent documents.

“This is Brooke Bryan for the Civil Rights Stories Project, interviewing Jane Doe in the WYSO studio to speak about her life experience before, during, and after the

demonstrations that led to the ‘riot’ in downtown Yellow Springs in March of 1964. Jane, thank you for participating in this project that will be broadcast,

archived, and found online. Can you please state your full name, your birth date, and today’s date?”

Early LifeO Let’s start at the beginning. Tell me about

your family and where you grew up…O What family values were passed on to you?O Who were your key mentors or teachers?

O Seek sensory descriptions (visuals/sounds/smells). Family dinner times, neighborhood friends, early learning experiences.

O Just be interested! The follow up questions will reveal themselves if you are engaged.

The Purposeful TurnO Bring the interview to the topic at hand, gently

towards the particular project themes. O For place-based or event-focused projects, you

can bring about the ‘purposeful turn’ with questions like:O “How did you come to find yourself in Yellow Springs?”O “I know you experienced the March ‘64

demonstrations, but let’s get a sense of the community before those events unfolded. Where did you go for social events, where did people go for fun? What music did you listen to, what did you wear? What was the community zeitgeist?”

The Purposeful TurnO For thematically-oriented projects

exploring ideas, broad themes, or communities of practice:O “how did you first become involved with ***

organization?”O “when did you first realize you were perceived

by others as different?” O “what is your first memory of being ***?” O “when did you know you wanted to be a ***

(English major, marine biologist)?”O “how did you come to be involved with ***

(person/institution/community)?”

Depth QuestionsO An interview project— especially one that

has multiple volunteer or student interviewers— must have a core set of questions that get at the heart of the project’s intent

O Depth questions provide continuity across interviews

O Depth questions should be carefully researched and are probably established by the project planners and advisory group

The Reflective TurnO Once the topic is explored through

structured Depth Questions, bring the interview to the reflective stage— ponder what it all means, why it matters. O “Bring us to contemporary times. Where

did things go from there? Have things changed?”

O “Would you do something differently if you could do it all over? Do you have regrets?”

O “Were your actions/responses enough?”O “Have your experiences

O —changed your perspective?”O —impacted the trajectory of your

life?”O —caused you to think differently?”O —brought change to your family?”

The Reflective TurnO Certain oral history projects have clear

contemporary connections and/or implications. Your interviewee may be more interested in reflecting or drawing connections than talking about the project’s intended goals.O A person interviewed as part of a civil rights

project really wants to talk about being a high-ranking African American in post-WWII America, reflecting on the struggle to purchase property in the same country you fought for.

O A person interviewed for a civil rights project really wants to talk about educational parity (or lack thereof) in the local public schools today.

Wrap-UpO “Is there anything we didn’t talk about today

that you would like to touch upon?”O “Is there anything you’d like to clarify?”O “Oh. Earlier you said something very

interesting— I wonder if we can go back to...O Thank the interviewee for their time and

willingness to participate in the projectO Present release form and sign. You have no

legal right to share or archive or make available the interview until the release form is signed.

ResourcesO Oral History Association Best PracticesO Catching Stories, the Oral History Inst. textO Forms in the Community Oral History ToolkitO ‘Do History’ Oral History ToolkitO Baylor University Intro to Oral History packetO Question generator at StoryCorpsO The Institutional Review Board at a partner

College or UniversityO The American Folklife Center’s

Cultural Documentation Resources