Family Interview Assignment

Find a member of your family (can be immediate family or a more distant relative) and ask them the questions on the following slide.

It does not matter how you contact them, it can be in person, on the phone, or by email.

If you find something interesting in your conversation aside from the questions on the next slide, please feel free to include it in your write-up as well!

Your Task:

1) Where were you born? Where did you spend the majority of your childhood living? How is it different or similar from where you are now?

2) What family did you grow up with and how did you interact? How often did you eat meals together? What holidays did you celebrate? How did you divide up chores?

Jumping-Off Points/Questions

1) What was expected of you academically?

2) What do you consider to be some of the most important events or turning points in your life?

3) Finally, what cultures (according to our definition) do you identify with?

More questions

Describe the answers that you received from your interviewee and share what you found out.

Include direct quotes when appropriate!

Reflect on: what you already knew and what is new

information to youwhat parts of your life experience are similar to

that of your family member and what parts seem to be very different

The Assignment

You’ve already done this once, so it’s pretty simple: ask a different family member the same questions, and write a summary of and reflection about their answers.

The only difference is that – this time – I also want you to include in your reflection some comments comparing your two family member’s experiences. Do they have very similar backgrounds and experiences, or did they have very different things to say about their cultural identify?

Family Interview #2