Select a family member who was over the age of 65 when they died.
Contact people (preferably family members or long time family friends) from the following categories who knew them:
2 older persons (over 65)
2 middle age persons (45-64)
1 of your peers
Ask the following questions of each of the five people:
What is your earliest memory of this person?
What do you remember the most about him or her?
Can you describe some times when you were with him or her? (What did you do together? What did you talk about?)
When was the last time you saw him or her? (Where were you? What did you say?)
How would you describe his or her defining qualities?
What was his or her significance to the family? What do you miss the most about him or her?
I suggest that you email or snail mail a copy of these questions to each of the people you plan to interview so they have time to contemplate their answers. If you conduct your interviews via email, pls make sure that you ask follow-up questions in a reply email, phone call, or facetime call. Start early!
Due September 24th at 11:59pm in Dropbox A one page paper naming the person you have selected to learn about and why you have chosen them, as well as the names and ages of the intergenerational folks you will interview and how and when you will contact them. Please include the persons age at death. Please include a copy of their obituary. Why was this person selected? Also let me know if any issues have come up in the process of selecting the person and your interviewees. This paper will be included in the appendix of your final paper. 10pts
Update- Obituary- If the person has died recently, you can include a live link to their obituary in your paper. If you have a hard copy, you can include it as a photo or pdf on the second page.
Due October 8th at 11:59pm in Dropbox A one page paper giving a brief biography of the deceased person. Should include general information one would expect from a biography– where they were born, the date they were born, the date they died, schooling, marital status, children (if any), what they did for a living, and anything else you think is relevant to your person. If revisions are indicated after I have seen it, please do so before the final paper. This biography will be included in the appendix of your final paper. (10pts)
From the answers you receive in your interviews and your own memory (or perhaps from what you remember hearing if they died before you were born or had the capacity to remember them) of the person, construct a portrait of who this person was and what they meant to your family. Incorporate relevant concepts and terms discussed in class and in your books/readings. Please bold each concept or term you use. Information obtained during your research process should be integrated together. Interviews should not be transcribed. This paper should be * 9-10 pages (double-spaced, 12pt font, 1 inch margins, with page numbers) in length and is due December 1st at 11:59pm in Dropbox. Please include emails or notes from all of your interviews (I assume that they will be in rough form-you do not need to fix). Include at least one picture of the person if possible- more than one is fine. Other documentation is welcome if you have access to it, i.e. letters, emails, diary entries, etc. This assignment is worth 100 points. No late papers will be accepted.
In addition to the 9-10 pages for the paper, please include in the appendix
obituary
2) biography
3) who you are interviewing.