INTERVIEWS AS ACTIVATED STORYTELLING OCCASIONS

This chapter is based on interviews conducted on a college campus and online. The substantive focus of the project was immigration. In this chapter, we will consider the methodological implications of conducting interviews in various settings (in-person and via Zoom). We analyze how people draw on the interview setting-including both the physical surroundings and interpersonal context-to tell their stories. In particular, we look at how the interview itself as an occasion for storytelling shaped interactions and responses. Overall, the analysis shows how research interviews are social situations mediated by the contexts in which they are conducted.