Methodological Pluralism and the Possibilities and Limits of Interviewing

Lamont, Michèle; Swidler, Ann

doi:10.1007/s11133-014-9274-z

Cited by 468 publications

(285 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…Taken collectively, the oral history interviews offered the optimal data for cultural analysis, as it allows for the interpretation of how this generation of African Americans "collectively engage in meaning-making processes" that "structure people's ability to think and to share ideals" (Lamont & Swidler, 2014). One measure to enhance the durability of the frame of the collective memories is the large sample size.…”

Section: Oral History Methodsologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Before they were Diamonds: The Intergenerational Migration of Kentucky's Coal Camp Blacks

Brown¹

2017

Preprint

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My dissertation project is an empirical examination of the ways in which social transformations of the 20th century—read along the grain of the Great Migration—impacted the collective identity of African Americans over space and time. In this work, I will analyze the racialized subjectivity and identity (trans)formation of a diaspora of African Americans who partook in an intergenerational migration from the plantations of central Alabama to the coalfields of southeastern Kentucky in the first half of the 20th century, and then moved on to urban cities throughout the United States throughout the Civil Rights-era. The latter generation of migrants collectively experienced major shifts in the social structures of their community of origin, such as transitioning from “colored schools” to a State mandated integrated school system, retrenchment in the labor economy of a single-industry community, and the subsequent mass out-migration from their community of origin. These jolts to the social structures of their society not only altered their horizon of opportunity, but also resulted in major dislocations in the cultural systems that informed their collective identity. Particular to the case, I am concerned with the ways in which these cultural traumas—memories of events that collectivities believe rended the social fabric of their society—impacted the collective identity of this diaspora. In spite of their geographic dispersion, this generation of migrants has managed to stay connected through a set of “invented traditions” that they constituted at the tail end of their out-migration. For example, the Eastern Kentucky Social Club—an organization established by this group of migrants in 1970—has hosted a reunion in different cities across the country every year for the last forty-four years. At its height, this event drew over 3,000 African American migrants from across the country. The broader aim of the project is to reconstruct the rich history and culture of this special population of Black Appalachians to put forth a re-examination of W.E.B. Du Bois’ phenomenological analysis of racialized subjectivity and African American identity formation in 20th century America.The overarching research questions that guide this study are (1) How do we explain the emergence of their post-migration diasporic identity? (2) How has their collective identity been negotiated, transformed and reinscribed through their changing, and sometimes contested, subjectivity as racialized American citizens through the continuum of the pre and post civil rights era? I will specifically focus on three events that have been the site of transformation for the individuals in my case, (1) the school desegregation process—an event that occurred almost a decade after the Brown vs. Board of Education decision in this region, (2) the mass out-migration from southeastern Kentucky—a community level event that was a precursor to the emergence of their diasporic identity, and (3) the construction of the EKAAMP archive—an event that marks the institutional transference from memory to history. These eventful temporalities provide three categories of analysis that will allow me to make important linkages to my research questions in the context of the past, present, and future.

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Section: Oral History Methodsologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Before they were Diamonds: The Intergenerational Migration of Kentucky's Coal Camp Blacks

Brown¹

2017

Preprint

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“…Several prominent researchers have responded to this challenge. Lamont and Swidler (2014) caution against "methodological tribalism," defending interview methodology as appropriate (and often ideal) for addressing questions of social boundaries, status hierarchies, and other phenomena. Similarly, Pugh (2013) maintains that critiques of interview methods are largely founded on flawed understandings.…”

Section: Martin's Critique and The Interview Debatementioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring culture through in-depth interviews: is it useful to ask people about what they think, mean, and do?

Rivas

Gibson-Light

2016

Cinta moebio

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In 2010, American sociologist John Levi Martin asserted that in-depth interviews are inadequate for the study of culture. This sparked a debate in the discipline over the legitimacy of interview methods for researchers of culture and others. Here, we contextualize and contribute to this debate. We review the ideas of Martin and argue that in-depth interviews are in fact valid, well-supported in the field, and useful for investigating cultural phenomena. We build this counter-argument on three angles: epistemological, theoretical and methodological. Given this defense, we also explore how social scientists are implementing innovative ways to complement in-depth interview approaches, such as through social network analysis.Key words: qualitative methods, in-depth interviews, epistemology, sociology of culture, John Levi Martin. ResumenEn el año 2010, John Levi Martin, un reconocido sociólogo estadounidense dedicó una de sus publicaciones para aseverar que las entrevistas en profundidad eran inadecuadas para estudiar fenómenos culturales. Esto desató un debate en la disciplina respecto a la legitimidad de los métodos basados en entrevistas para aquellos investigadores estudiosos de la sociología de la cultura u otras áreas similares. En este trabajo, contextualizamos y contribuimos a este debate. Revisamos las ideas de Martin y defendimos la idea de que las entrevistas en profundidad realmente son válidas y que existen favorables antecedentes en su aplicación. Por lo tanto sí son necesarias al investigar este tipo de fenómenos. Construimos esta contra-respuesta desde tres ángulos: epistemológico, teórico y metodológico. Haciendo nuestra defensa de este tipo de entrevistas, también damos cuenta de la manera en que científicos sociales implementan formas innovadoras para complementar su función, tal como sucede en el análisis de redes sociales.Palabras clave: métodos cualitativos, entrevistas en profundidad, epistemología, sociología de la cultura, John Levi Martin. . Exploring culture through in-depth interviews:is it useful to ask people about what they think, mean, and do? Cinta moebio 57: 316-329

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“…Drawing on multiple disciplines and methods means acknowledging that different disciplines and techniques have specific advantages and limitations (depth versus breadth, singularity versus generalizability, etc.) and that the selection and combination of disciplines and methods should be determined by the questions and problems being addressed (Lamont and Swidler 2014). Accordingly, given the questions of the project, I employed comparative-historical methods mainly to shed light on the sociopolitical conditions that have shaped the historical development of early childhood education policies and practices.…”

Section: Complementarity and Interdisciplinary Integration Of Scientimentioning

confidence: 99%

A Transdisciplinary Approach to Research on Early Childhood Education

Burger¹

2016

GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society

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Methodological Pluralism and the Possibilities and Limits of Interviewing

Cited by 468 publications

References 72 publications

Before they were Diamonds: The Intergenerational Migration of Kentucky's Coal Camp Blacks

Before they were Diamonds: The Intergenerational Migration of Kentucky's Coal Camp Blacks

Exploring culture through in-depth interviews: is it useful to ask people about what they think, mean, and do?

A Transdisciplinary Approach to Research on Early Childhood Education

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