Ethnographic Techniques Used In Oral History

In anthropology, one of the main ethnographic methods used is oral history. This field involves a “tape-recorded historical information obtained in interviews concerning personal experiences and recollections” (Merriam Webster). For this paper, I decided to interview my grandmother Gloria. I was really excited for the interview with my grandmother because she has lived during the time when women’s role in society was extremely strict. About a month ago, I called my grandmother first explaining the assignment. She seemed really interested and excited to share her life story. Thankfully, she replied with an enthusiastic yes to participate when I asked her for her consent. On the day of the interview (November 5th), I called her on skype and started off by updating her on how college is going. I answered her questions before starting the interview in an attempt to create a casual atmosphere. Once we got all caught up on how our personal lives have been lately, she was eager to start the interview. The day before, I sent her a copy of my questions, just so she can prepare for the actual …show more content…
Throughout the interview, she stayed very light-hearted and I fed off of her actions. Whenever a ridiculous moment that we both have the same opinion on, we just joked around and laughed. Then for those quiet moments, I stayed very considerate of her emotions and payed my respects by having a moment of silence too. Since we are very close, the conversation was very easy. It was just like our normal conversations either by phone or in person. I just stayed very considerate yet casual in my approach. I was very engaged and interested when Gloria would tell her history. She responded in the very same way. She was so eager to tell her story and also share it with people other than family. She was very conversational towards me and open to