ASB 378: Module 2 Assignment
Purpose of assignment:
The purpose of this assignment is to conduct an in-depth interview with an immigrant
who has migrated to the United States in order to write about the person’s migration
history and experiences in the U.S. in the context of the issues covered in this module.
Because of the pandemic, please follow CDC guidelines when conducting the
interview. If both you and the interviewee are not vaccinated and boosted, please
make sure to wear a mask, try to conduct the interview outdoors, and if conducting
it indoors, maintain 6 feet of social distance. You may also consider doing the
interview remotely using Zoom or Skype.
Instructions:
Select an immigrant to conduct the interview. The person should be an adult immigrant
who was born in another country and moved to the U.S. and should be willing to sit
through a long interview process. We strongly urge you to conduct the interview in
person. If the immigrant does not live locally, then it will be acceptable to conduct the
interview over Zoom or Skype, and if that is not possible, by phone. If you do not know
any immigrants personally, contact/e-mail your friends and acquaintances and ask them
to introduce you to immigrants who may be willing to be interviewed. You could also
contact student organizations and clubs on campus that may have immigrant students
(such as ethnic organizations).
During the interview, take lengthy and detailed notes. You can do this by hand or with
an electronic device (e.g., laptop). (Please note that some people may feel “put off” by
having a bulky laptop computer between themselves and the interviewer). If you take
notes by hand, it will be impossible to write all the important information down, so take
brief notes and then fill in the information you could not write down right after the
interview. If you have a smart phone with an audio recording/voice memo app, you
should use it in case you cannot write down/type everything (smart phones tend to be
much less disruptive than using a laptop during an interview). In this case, obtain
consent from the interviewee to record the interview. If you do not obtain permission to
use your interviewee’s real name, you need to use a pseudonym in your paper to protect
the person’s identity.
To elicit detailed information on your interviewee’s migratory experiences, you will need
to ask specific, directed questions. You should review the module lectures and readings
and prepare a list of relevant questions you wish to ask before you conduct the interview.
Your questions should cover the reasons the person migrated to the U.S., the type of job
they do and their work experiences (if the person is working), their experiences as a
student (if they are an international student), how immigrant admissions or control
policies affected their migration, how they have been treated by Americans and any antiimmigrant sentiment/discrimination they have encountered, and the transnational ties
they maintain with their country of origin or other migrants of the same nationality in
other countries. Start by asking general questions about each topic and then ask more
specific (and more spontaneous) follow-up questions depending on what the person says.
The interview should last 30 minutes or more, depending on how much your interviewee
has to say and the number of questions you ask. If you conduct too short of an interview,
you may not have enough interview material to write this paper.
Issues and questions to consider when writing the paper:
Your paper should not be an interview transcript or a straightforward and factual
description of what the immigrant said. You need to first analyze your interview notes in
the context of issues addressed in this module’s lectures and readings. Your paper should
apply the knowledge and concepts you have learned from the module in order to
illuminate your interviewee’s experiences. You should discuss how your interviewee’s
experiences illustrate (or are different from) the global migration processes discussed in
this module.
The issues this paper should address are: What caused the immigrant to migrate to the
U.S. (the role of economic push-pull pressures, international social network connections,
etc.), the immigrant’s working conditions and the economic impact of his/her job (if the
person is working), whether immigration policies facilitated the person’s migration or
made it much more difficult to migrate, the possible impact of negative public opinion
toward immigrants on the person, and the kinds of transnational ties and connections the
immigrant maintains and their significance.
Paper length and citations:
The entire paper should be about 5 pages, double-spaced. Longer papers are acceptable
as long as they are not repetitive or longwinded.
You must cite materials you use from course readings by indicating the author and page
number in parentheses, for example, (Ritzer, p.296). No bibliography or a list of works
cited is necessary at the end of your paper, unless you use readings not assigned for the
course (which is not necessary for this assignment). If you wish to cite a lecture, indicate
the module and lecture number (and time-stamp if you have it) in parentheses, for
example, (Module 2, Lecture 1, 13:45). All direct quotations from the readings and
lectures must be cited, as well as when you paraphrase what is said/written in them. If
you use information from the internet, cite the URL/web address (again, you do not have
to use any internet material for this assignment).
Grading:
Your assignment will be graded based on the following three criteria:
1) Quality of interview data (33% of grade): Does the assignment show evidence that the
student elicited sufficient and effective information from the interviewee?
2) Course content and analysis (33% of grade): Is the student analyzing the interview data
effectively by using and/or referencing course material from the lectures, readings, and
videos?
3) Organization and writing (33% of grade): Is the assignment well-organized and
written?
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