Listening Project Assignment

Eng 3165/AmSt 3004 The Immigrant Experience in Fiction, Film, & Photography, Fall ’16 Listening Project, due Tue. Dec. 20

Assignment

Identify two people willing to talk with you about their experiences as immigrants to the U.S. and record your conversations with them as .wav files.  If your interview subjects consent, you may upload the recording to the Brooklyn College Listening Project, an oral history archive.  If not, you may simply submit the recording to me.  Each interview should be at least 20 minutes.  Along with these two audio files, please submit a reflection of 3-4 typed, double-spaced pages in which you summarize what you heard and offer your thoughts about how the interviews resonate with or diverge from other materials we have studied this semester.

There are three main steps to completing this project. Each will be discussed in class on Nov. 29.

1.      Identify your interview subjects, schedule a time & place to conduct the interviews, and prepare your questions. 

2.      Conduct the interviews and obtain signatures on the consent form.  If submitting to the BC Listening Project, also complete two deed-of-gift forms for each interview: one for you, and one for your interview subject.

3.      Upload the interview to a computer, so that you can submit it to me as an audio file.  If submitting to the BC Listening Project, complete the Interview Log Form, make pdf scans or jpg photos of the consent and deed-of-gift forms.  These should be submitted to me, too.

Resources and Support: https://brooklynlistening.wordpress.com/project-documents/

FAQ

How do I record the interviews?  Use either a smartphone or a Tascam DR-5 recorder, available from the BC New Media Center (Library, 2^nd floor).  Be sure to record using .wav format.

What should I ask?  Ask questions that invite your interviewee to discuss his or her experiences as a newcomer to NYC, reasons for the move, aspects of the transition, the adjustments, hopes, dreams, and challenges.  Questions should be specific enough for your interviewee to address without feeling lost, but they should be open-ended rather than yes/no questions.  See the document entitled “Pointers-Strategies About Interviewing” at https://brooklynlistening.wordpress.com/project-documents/

How do I submit the recording to my professor?  From your smartphone or Tascam DR-5 recorder, upload the recording to a computer.  Then go to http://wetransfer.com, upload your audio file, and enter my email address when prompted.

Can I listen to other examples of interviews by BC students?  Go to http://www.sscommons.org/openlibrary/welcome.html#1, click BROWSE Collections, and double-click Brooklyn College Listening Project from the alphabetical list that appears.