| The Interview Process |
| Although I've had a little experience in the past with qualitative
interviewing, doing the life history interviews for Anthropology 220 was
a new experience for me. At first it was intimidating to ask
someone I had never met detailed questions about her past. My
first interview was over the phone, and initially it was hard to feel
comfortable as a student talking to someone who was larger than life, an
activist involved in important social change work. I was surprised at first when I found myself answering questions about myself for her, but it's amazing how easy it is to talk about yourself when somebody asks. I hope Lori felt the same way when I started asking her questions. For my second interview I travelled to Oregon where I was able to do the interview in person. This time the dynamic was very different. Face to face I feel we were both more comfortable, and since we had had time over the two days I was there to get to know each other better, the interview proceeded more like a conversation where I felt I was able to ask more follow-up questions, but also let the interview take its own course and let Lori tell me what was important to her. Transcribing hours of interviews showed me that what I took away from the interview experience wasn't always obvious in the typed transcripts. I have tried to present them here in a way that captures some of the moments I felt were significant. |