On Tuesday, March 29,2011 my group, Amy, Julianne and myself began our Oral History Project interviewing Johandy Martinez, a close friend of Julianne, about his struggles with weight gain and weight loss during college. During his freshman year he really saw the immediate effects of living on your own and knew he needed to make changes in his lifestyle. During his interview he explained his struggle as well as giving pointers for anyone who is struggling with weight loss.
Overall, the interview went really well. The chemistry between Julianne and Johandy was very strong and you can see the comfort of "talking" to one another. I kept thinking to myself that if I was the one asking the questions the interview may have went into another direction.
Next we have planned to get a female's perspective on gaining weight in college but we are developing conflicts in schedules of all participating parties.
As I begin to read Chapter 3 of Like it Was: A Complete Guide to Writing Oral History, the first few pages talks about "Who" you are going to interview. The author presented an example of a 80 year old woman who was interviewed at a time when she could remember her stories. These few paragraphs immediately brought me back to my own personal experience with oral history.
When I was around eight or nine years old my Pop Pop would come to stay at my house from North Jersey during the summer for a few weeks to enjoy the "Jersey Shore". Every morning he would conduct his routine of waking up, having a cup of tea and going outside with a pack of cigarettes and newspaper in hand. He would stay outside the entire day reading the newspaper cover to cover. He always said "This is how you get educated".
Anyway, being a curious and annoying granddaughter I used to interrupt his reading every morning and talk to him when one day I decided to ask about when he was my age. He told me about how it was like to grow up in Belfast, Ireland during a time when homes all around him were getting bombed and he had to protect his younger sisters. One story turned into another story until I found myself writing down everything he said. I documented the stories from when he was born, the death of his younger sister, to meeting my Granny out dancing, to traveling to Canada alone and then finally to the United States where he began to build a life for his family.
This past October 28,2010 he passed away from Alzheimer's Disease and that night I tore apart my desk hoping to find the handwriting of my eight year old self. It was no where to be found and that's when I wanted to read it the most. I would never hear those stories from him again. There are simply a faint memory between him and I.
In the article What is Oral History it is stated that “Although the conversation takes the form of an interview, in which one person--the interviewer--asks questions of another person--variously referred to as the interviewee or narrator--oral history is, at its heart, a dialogue.”
Oral history is essentially expressed through conversation as stated above. The specific questions chosen by the interviewer creates the atmosphere and the essential twist towards a specific answer. It is essential to record everything one says. If you miss one word their is a possible chance where you can throw off the whole concept/idea. With that being said it seems like a lot of people today are recording interviews rather than writing down the interviews like times before. Once recorded the reporter can constantly replay what was said in order to get the essential point across. Oh the world of technology.
The article about Narrative Inquiry focuses mainly on a three dimensional system that inquirers use to develop their information. The following quotes are what resonate with me.
1. "Dewey's work on experience is our imaginative touchstone for reminding us that in our work, the answer to the ques tion, Why narrative? is, Because experience." pg 50 This explains to the reader that narrative has been a subject that has been thought about for years and years and it is not a new topic.
2."By inward, we mean toward the internal conditions, such as feelings, hopes, aesthetic reactions, and moral dis positions. By outward, we mean toward the existential conditions, that is, the environment. By backward and forward, we refer to temporal ity-past, present, and future." pg 50 This infers that when one conducts research they should make sure they cover every angle.
3. "What we mean by this is that we tell remembered stories of ourselves from earlier times as well as more current stories. All o f these stories offer possible plotlines for our futures." pg 60 Every story someone creates comes from some experience or some earlier experiences one goes through or heard of.
The article, Situating Narrative Inquiry, was intimidating the moment I opened the folder and saw 34 pages. Reading such lengthy material creates an anxious feeling that makes you want to stop reading before you even begin but I got through it and chose 3 quotes that I liked.
1. "We use the term "turn" strategically because we want to emphasize the movement from one way of thinking to another and highlight the fact that such changes can occur rapidly or slowly, depending on the experience of the researchers and their experiences when doing research." pg 7 in regards to "Four Themes in the Turn Toward Narrative Inquiry" To me, this means that research may or may not come easy.
2. "In turning, narrative inquirers recognize that the researcher and the researched in a particular study are in relationship with each other and that both parties will learn and change in the encounter" pg 8 The research being conducted may or may not shift your opinion.
3. "The convergence between social science and the public is undoubtedly good for narrative." pg 30 This allows the reader to understand that different sources can develop different questions for the researcher.
With class being titled, Writing Research and Technology, it didn't surprise me when we were asked to read Rock My Network by Theodora Stites. Rock My Network shows how one girl is sort of "obsessed" with the use of technology. She uses multiple websites to stay "connected" with society instead of personal one on one physical contact just simply technological.
I personally do not find technology to be invading our society and creating a terrible impact on our lives today involving education and physical health. There are plenty of ways we could use technology to improve education if used in the right way and/or if there is access.
Overweight/obese health problems have definitely increased but if parents create a time limit for use of video games/ TV/ computer etc. like my parents did our younger generation will know how balance their lifestyle in the future.
I enjoy technology and the positive effects it has on my own writing. If it wasn't for Twitter I wouldn't have developed my idea for my Twitterive. Tweeting daily about places I have been and emotions I have wouldn't have sparked ideas. Twitter was used subconsciously as a "journal" in a way in order to get my ideas down and out of my head.
Weebly, this website, is used in order for me to reflect on my readings and/or my class in general. This is where I develop my finished products for everyone to see and develop their own opinions of my work.
My online identity on Twitter and in my blog is definitely more outgoing than my "real identity" whether it's in class or on the street. I respond to others online more than I would personally talking to each other in class. What I found really interesting is when I was reading my classmate's Tweets I found myself knowing so much about their personal life such as where they are going on the weekend, what their favorite sport team is, where they are eating for the night, if they are going on a date, and even hearing their vents and frustrations. These tweets in a way connected me to them online but as we stand outside the classroom waiting for Professor Mangini to unlock the door we stand in silence even though I know what they did the night before or what movie they saw this weekend. When I begin to really think about it, people online may know more about me than I really want them too.