The Personal Interview assignment is to be a written summary of a one-on-one, face-to-face interview with a person who is different in some…

The Personal Interview assignment is to be a written summary of a one-on-one, face-to-face interview with a person who is different in some significant way from the interviewer.  The objective of the assignment is for the interviewer to have a more than superficial conversation with someone who may have a very different perspective on the commonplace, daily, taken-for-granted assumptions and experiences of the culture in which they were raised.  The completed interview should be posted in the Assignments area of Canvas.

In choosing a subject to interview, you are to select someone who has had different national, racial or cultural experiences than yours.  Convenience is not an objective of the assignment.  In fact, one of the purposes is to inconvenience you a little by asking you to find an interviewee who will extend you beyond your normal circle of acquaintances.  This is an intentional exercise and relates directly to several topics of study in the class, including culture, socialization, race, ethnicity, social class, agents of socialization and social institutions.

The interviewee should not be your husband or wife, boyfriend or girlfriend, father or mother, sister or brother or any immediate family member.  If you do not follow these directions, the paper will be returned and you will have the choice of resubmitting with the 50% reduction for late papers applied or a zero.  If you have questions about the suitability of the interviewee, consult the instructor.

I am often asked about the length of the interview and, from previous experience, 3 to 5 pages should be sufficient.  A cover sheet in APA Style should be included.  The main section of the interview does not have to be in APA Style and References are not necessary.