Собирание устных историй

Введение

Семейно-исторические интервью - это чудесный способ запечатлеть воспоминания, которые могут быть утрачены. Они помогают вам проверить и уточнить имена и даты, то есть сведения, которые вы обычно записываете в бланки семейной группы или диаграммы родословия. Это интервью служат также лучшим методом для сохранения всего богатства историй, свидетельств, мыслей и чувств. Процесс проведения семейно-исторического интервью прост, и освоить его лучше всего вам поможет практика. Большинство людей ощущает себя гораздо уверенней уже после одного-двух подобных интервью. Этот урок призван помочь вам обрести необходимые знания для проведения самого первого интервью. Информация, приведённая ниже, имеет общий характер, так что вам придётся адаптировать её к вашим личным обстоятельствам.

С кем проводить интервью?

Ваша первая задача - определить, кого интервьюировать и с какой целью? Может быть, вам захочется провести интервью человека, который может что-то знать про определённого предка. Может, вы захотите провести более общее интервью либо со старейшими родственниками и членами вашей семьи, или же опросить старейшего жителя вашего города, соседа или ещё кого-то, кто мог бы рассказать о вашей семье. Как правило такие интервью следует проводить один-на-один. Хотя некоторые случаи - такие как, например, встреча семьи в расширенном составе - могут предоставить вам уникальную возможность зафиксировать воспоминания и чувства сразу нескольких людей за один раз. В таких обстоятельствах проще всего установить видео- и аудиозаписывающую аппаратуру и инициировать обсуждение некой темы. Например, можно пригласить участников группы поделиться любимыми воспоминаниями о бабушке или о жизни в какой-то период времени. Когда кто-то в группе делится своими воспоминаниями, это помогает и другим участникам воскресить в памяти моменты, которые остались бы забытыми во время индивидуального опрашивания. Помните, что вам иногда будет трудно определить на таких коллективных записях, кто про что рассказывает, особенно, если у вас записывается только аудио. Кроме того, групповой шум может сделать неразборчивыми некоторые части обсуждения. Эти недостатки можно компенсировать использованием нескольких записывающих устройств и различением разных голосов сразу же после записи. 

Подсказка от эксперта: Интервью лицом к лицу обычно самые эффективные. Если человек, с которым вы хотите провести интервью, живёт не близко от вас, альтернативой может стать телефонное интервью. См. приложение А, где описаны разные вариант записи. См. также Цифровой звук

Перед началом интервью

Как только вы выбрали одного или нескольких людей для интервью, вам нужно спросить их, желают ли они в нём участвовать. Объясните цель вашего интервью и то, что вы ожидаете от них. Можно также объяснить, что сами участники получат после встречи, например, запись беседы и её текстовый вариант. Если они согласятся на интервью, тогда можно следовать шаг за шагом:

Назначьте время и место Если вы уже знаете, с кем предстоит встретиться для интервью, и этот человек дал своё согласие, договоритесь о месте, где вы могли бы чувствовать себя комфортно, и о времени, чтобы никому из вас не нужно было спешить. Во время поиска места для проведения встречи постарайтесь минимизировать отвлекающие факторы. Чаще всего дом интервьюируемого может быть самым удачным местом; там могут находиться памятные предметы и объекты, которые будут излучать историю этого человека. Обычно одного или двух часов достаточно для первоначального интервью. И всё же некоторые люди быстро устают, особенно пожилые или больные, так что несколько более коротких интервью будут более эффективными.

Подготовьте список вопросов, которые планируете задавать Вопросы, которые прозвучат в самом начале вашего интервью, могут повлиять на ход всей беседы. Вот почему нужно их тщательно подготовить. Первые два-три вопроса могут быть самыми простыми, что интервьюируемый почувствовал себя уверенней. Однако следующие вопросы должны пригласить отвечающего начать говорить. И если уж человек заговорил, старайтесь перебивать его как можно реже. Течение рассказа может воскресить серию воспоминаний, связанных друг с другом. Обычно есть три типа задаваемых вопросов:

• Открытые вопросы. Самыми успешными интервью чаще всего становятся те, во время которых интервьюируемый рассказывает то, что важно для него самого. Вы можете подвести интервью к обсуждению таких интересов, задавая открытые вопросы. Например: “Какие самые тёплые воспоминания сохранились у Вас о Вашей матери?” или “Как Вы познакомились со своим мужем?” или “Какими были самые трудные для Вас испытания в детстве?” Чтобы ответить на такие вопросы, будет недостаточно одного или двух слов, и это поможет интервьюируемому начать говорить. В приложении Б можно найти список подобных вопросов.

• Прямые вопрсоы. Прямой вопрос побуждает к краткому ответу, состоящему обычно из одного или двух слов. Прямые вопросы подходят для случаев, когда вы хотите получить конкретную информацию. Например, вы можете спросить: “В каком году родился Фёдор Павлович?” или “Кем работал его отец?” Вопросы такого типа могут помочь вам получить нужные сведения, но не произведут воспоминания и мысли, которые ожидаются во время интервью. Они могут стать хорошим началом или завершением беседы и помогут в получении важных данных в определённом контексте. И всё же успешное интервью обычно строится на открытых вопросах.

Несмотря на то, что наилучшее интервью получается из открытых вопросов, вы можете подготовить список прямых вопросов, на которые надеетесь получить ответы во время опроса. Интервьюируемый человек может ответить на них, рассказывая что-то во время самого интервью. Если же этого не произойдёт, вы сможете использовать последние несколько минут встречи, чтобы задать некоторые из прямых вопросов.

• Object-Based Questions. Photos, objects, and heirlooms can serve as an interesting basis for interview questions. For example, during your interview you might show a photo and ask what your interviewee knows about the people in the photo.

Be sensitive about the questions you ask. If you know a certain subject will be upsetting to the interviewee, avoid that subject or approach it carefully. Broach the subject only after you have developed sufficient rapport.

Arrange for Recording Equipment Expensive equipment is not required for oral history interviews. An inexpensive video or tape recorder and microphone are usually all you need. Test the equipment in advance to ensure that it works properly and that you know how to use it. High quality tapes will preserve your interview longer. You should also bring extra batteries or a power cord you can plug in the wall.

Expert Tip: Some people are shy of microphones. Try to obtain a microphone that can be inconspicuously placed on a table in the interview room rather than one that must be held in the hand or spoken into directly.

Make a Checklist Make a checklist of things to take to the interview, which may include:
• Extra batteries or a power cord for your recording equipment.
• A label for your tape.
• A pen or pencil and paper for note taking and for labeling your audio or video tape.
• Your list of questions.
• Photographs or artifacts that might be useful.
• A pedigree chart or family group record.
• A release form for the interviewee to sign.
• A release form giving your permission to share the content of the interview (see Appendix C.)

Во время интервью

At the interview be relaxed and alert. It is best not to spend too much time taking notes. Jot down what you need to remember, but for the most part you should look at the interviewee and listen carefully to what is said. The following recommendations will help you in your interview.

Be on Time You will have a more successful interview if you minimize inconvenience to the person you interview.

Set up a Good Rapport Thank the person you interview for his or her time, and spend two or three minutes chatting before you set up your equipment.

Set up Your Recording Equipment Choose a room where your interviewee is comfortable. To minimize distractions and obtain the best recording possible, avoid rooms with loud ticking clocks or other noises. You also might want to turn off any telephone ringers during the interview. Sometimes wrapping a towel around the microphone will cut down on background noise. (If you use this technique, try it beforehand to ensure it works with your recording equipment.) Be sure to test the microphone before the interview to make sure it works properly.

Record the Details of Your Interview Start your recording with your own voice. Explain who you are, who you are interviewing, what the date is, and where the interview is being conducted. For example: “This is John Doe. I am interviewing my grandfather William Doe. It is October 1, 2008, and we are at grandfather’s house on 8898 South Laredo Drive in Houston, Texas.” You can then test your equipment by playing back what you have just recorded.

Start Asking Your Questions During the interview itself, your job is to help your subject feel comfortable and willing to talk. Once comfortable, most people do not have any problem talking about their life experiences. As you progress with your interview, keep in mind the following points:

• Make a note of anything that may need clarification. Instead of interrupting while your interviewee is talking, make a quick note of things you do not understand and ask for clarification later in the interview.

• Stay alert for signs of fatigue. If the person you are interviewing shows signs of fatigue and is not refreshed by a bathroom break or a drink of water, you may need to finish your interview at a different time.

• Ask final questions. About 10 or 20 minutes before your scheduled time is over, you can direct questions you might have. Also ask about anything you feel needs clarification and how to spell the names of people and places mentioned in the interview.

• Finish up. Immediately label your audio or video tape. Your label should include the same information you provided at the beginning of your interview—your name, the name of the person you interviewed, and the date and place of the interview. Punch out the tabs in your audio or video tape to prevent it from being recorded over. Clear out all your equipment, thank your interviewee, and offer him or her a copy of the interview itself or a transcription. If you would like to do an additional interview, try to schedule it before you leave.

Expert Tip: Don’t be concerned about getting through your list of questions. It is more important that people you interview be allowed to talk about whatever is significant to them. They know more about their life experience than you do and often are better judges of the value of their personal knowledge. Most of all, you want the interview to be a satisfying experience for the person you interview.

После интервью

Don’t wait too long after the interview to make use of the recording. As time passes, you will begin to forget important details that may help you as you transcribe the recording.

Transcribe the Interview Transcription is important in safeguarding and sharing your work. Audio and video tapes become obsolete much faster than typed documents. They are easily damaged, and the quality of the recording can degrade quickly. If keeping a copy of the original recording is important, be sure to convert the recording to new technologies as they become available.

A transcription machine is helpful when you are transcribing an interview. It allows you to start and stop the recording easily while you write or type. If you do not have a transcription machine available, however, you can still transcribe the recording using normal equipment.

Written language is generally quite different from spoken language. People often prefer to see the written record of their words in a grammatical or standard form, even when they did not speak grammatically. They can become quite embarrassed if the transcription shows all their verbal pauses and false starts and stops.

As you transcribe the recording, you do not need to write down every “um” or the other kinds of sounds people make as they talk. After you have transcribed the interview, you should go through the text and edit it to remove the false starts and verbal repetitions that occur in spoken language.

As you edit, however, try to keep those elements that are unique, that make the person’s voice uniquely recognizable.

Make Copies of the Interview Make copies of your interview, and store them in different locations to help preserve them in case of fire or other type of disaster. You will also need to make copies to share with others. When you make copies, use material that is durable, such as acid-free paper, so the copies will last for a long time.

Share Your Interview If you offered any copies to your interviewee, make sure you share the copies promptly. If your interviewee agrees, and you have obtained a copy of that agreement in writing (see Appendix C), you can also share your interview in many other ways:

• Offer your transcript to your local historical society or university.
• Send a copy to interested family members.
• Publish it on a Web page.

Expert Tip: It is extremely important that you exclude any identifying information on living individuals if you share your interview with anyone other than close family and friends, especially when the interview is shared over the Internet.

Краткое изложение

There are many ways to do interviews. In fact, your interview does not even have to be conducted orally. You could set up a Web site or blog where family members can record their memories of a beloved ancestor. Or you might set a goal to e-mail a family member just one question a week in order to get to know that person better. The best way to learn how to conduct family history interviews is to practice. With a little experience, you will be able to determine what techniques and technology work best for you. Regardless of how you do it, you are sure to find the process of preserving memories very rewarding.

Дополнительные источники

Книги

Willa K. Baum. Oral History for the Local Historical Society. Nashville: American Association for State and Local History, 1987.

Gary L. Shumway and William G. Hartley. An Oral History Primer. Salt Lake City: Shumway and Hartley, 1973.

Веб-сайты

Cyndi Howells. Cyndi’s List: Oral History. URL: http://www.cyndislist.com/oral.htm

Judith Moyer. Step-by-Step Guide to Oral History. URL: http://www.dohistory.org/on_your_own/toolkit/oralHistory.html

L. Dale Patterson. Doing Oral History. Online: Archival Leaflet Series, the General Commission on Archives and History, the United Methodist Church. URL: http://www.gcah.org/oral.html

Connie L. Vance. Project: Oral History Guide. URL: sites.google.com/site/utahnorthcompany/

Уроки для распечатки

How to Conduct Family History Interviews

Идеи для учителей

Teaching Goals

• Help students understand how to conduct a family history interview.
• Demonstrate the skills needed to conduct a family history interview.
• Help class members learn what resources are available.

Подготавливаясь обучать

Before you teach, you will need to:

• Have supplies to show class members what they will need to carry out a real interview. These supplies could include a tape recorder with good batteries, a tape, a list of several questions, a video recorder, or a laptop.

• Prepare a list of good interview questions (see Appendix B). Make enough copies of this list to hand out to each member of the class.

• Visit some Web sites about oral interviews to see what they contain, so you can discuss with the class what the best Web sites have to offer.

• Give each student a piece of paper and pencil. Ask students to write down the name of someone they would like to interview and two open-ended questions they could ask that person.

• Divide the class into groups of two. Tell each group they are going to practice interviewing one another. Ask them to come up with two open-ended questions to ask and then to interview each other for five minutes each.

• Ask the class to respond to the question “What keeps me from interviewing my family members?” Make a list of the responses, and then as a class discuss ways to overcome the identified obstacles.

Приложение А — Преимущества и недостатки различного записывающего оборудования

Equipment	Advantages	Disadvantages
Paper and Pencil	• Inexpensive. • Less threatening to people who are nervous about being recorded.	• Impossible to record the interview wordfor– word. • Greater possibility of errors. • Does not create an audio copy of the interviewee’s voice. • Does not create a photo of the interviewee.
Audio Recorder	• Relatively inexpensive. • Can record the interview accurately. • Enables immediate playback.	• Does not create a photo of the interviewee. • Can make it difficult to determine who is talking during group interviews. • Recording equipment can be intimidating to some people. • Recording equipment can malfunction.
Telephone Recorder	• Relatively inexpensive. • Can record the interview accurately. • Works well for elderly people who live far away and who do not have the energy to talk very long.	• Does not create a photo of the interviewee. • Difficult to create the same rapport as faceto- face interviews. • Recording equipment can malfunction. • Can be illegal if one of the persons being recorded does not know that a recording is being made.
Camera	• Can create visual images of interviewee as well as heirlooms.	• Does not create an audio copy of the interviewee’s voice. • Requires additional equipment to accurately record interview.
Video Recorder	• Can record the interview accurately. • Can create visual images of interviewee as well as heirlooms. • Enables immediate playback.	• Expensive. • Can be intimidating to the interviewee. • More difficult to transcribe. • Recording equipment can malfunction.
Digital Audio or Video Recorder	• Records in digital format, which is directly transferable to computer. • Enables immediate playback. • Can be easily edited electronically. • More easily transcribed, since audio and video tracks can be separated.	• More expensive. • Can be intimidating to interviewee. • Recording equipment can malfunction.

Приложение Б — Вопросы, на которые нельзя ответить ДА или НЕТ

This is only a preliminary list of questions you can ask in an interview. The kinds of questions will vary depending on your circumstances and the person you interview. Modify the questions or add to them according to your needs.

• What is your earliest memory?
• What were some of your family’s traditions?
• What was the happiest day of your life?
• Tell a story your mother or father told you when you were young.
• What places have you visited?
• What family heirlooms do you have?
• What childhood games did you play?
• Tell about a childhood hiding place.
• What were Sundays like when you were growing up?
• Describe your feelings or testimony of Jesus Christ. How did you gain that knowledge?
• What prayers have you had answered?
• Describe the most serious illness or accident that you have had.
• Do you remember any of your grandparents? Any great-grandparents? What were their names? What were they like?
• What were your siblings like?
• What trips or vacations do you remember?
• What special events took place in your neighborhood while you were growing up?
• What was your hometown like?
• What were politics like there?
• How many people were in your family? Describe each family member.
• What kinds of household chores did you do as a child? Which did you enjoy? Not enjoy?
• What aunts, uncles, or cousins do you remember? What were they like?
• Tell about family traditions for holidays and birthdays.
• Did you belong to any clubs or social groups? What were they like?
• What were your favorite childhood activities?
• Did you serve in the military? If so, where and when? What was it like?
• What special school memories do you have? Who were your favorite teachers?
• What challenges did you face as a child?
• What challenges have you faced as an adult?
• How did you first meet your spouse?
• How did your father spend his time?
• How did your mother spend her time?
• Tell about ancestors you know about—names and dates and any stories about them.
• What are the names of your children? What are their birth dates, where were they born, and what were the circumstances of their births, and their lives?
• Tell about some of the most notable people in your hometown.
• Tell about some of your neighbors as a child, as a youth, and as an adult.
• What changes have you seen in your lifetime in technology, society, politics, and so on?
• Tell about the house in which you live. Where else have you lived?
• Tell about the house you lived in during your childhood. Do you remember addresses or phone numbers?

Приложение В

When recording an interview, regardless of the format being used, it is important to respect the person’s personal rights of privacy. Most people will not mind you sharing the content of their interview with you. However, it is always good to make sure that you have the interviewee’s permission to share their comments with others.

Below is a sample of a contractual agreement you could use when interviewing a family member. The purpose of this contractual agreement is to inform the person being interviewed that the content of their interview may be shared with others. This could be in written from, such as a written history that has been published or photocopied. Or it could be posted in electronic format on a family website on the internet.

I_________________________________(name of the person being interviewed), hereby give my

permission to____________________________ (name of the person conducting the interview)

to use the transcript of the interview I took part in on _____________ (date the interview took place) for any purpose, including sharing the text, audio, or video recording to interested family members, historical societies, universities, or published Web pages.

____________________________________________________________ Signature of person being interviewed

____________________________________________________________ Signature of person conducting the interview