Field Work

My research project will require a fair amount of field work, as the goal is to interview individuals to record their personal histories in relation to a specific Toronto landmark or neighbourhood.  I think what attracts me to oral history (as opposed to a more traditional, canonized-in-textbooks kind of history) in general is its sense of immediacy, which seems to align itself rather naturally with the idea that knowledge gained from fieldwork is somehow more ‘real’ than information you might gather in a library.  It reminds me of a similar distinction between, say, film and theatre.  Both can certainly teach you things, and both can have a visceral effect on the viewer.  But I’ve always found that truly well-crafted theatre can jolt me in a way that film cannot, and I think that this has a lot to do with the act of watching real people, in real time, participate in the action that’s unfolding before you.  It carries that same sense of immediacy, of intimacy, of being directly involved with what’s at stake, that seems to also attract people to work in ‘the field.’

None of my previous academic endeavours have involved any fieldwork, so I’m excited to approach a project from this perspective.  Though I suspect that one of the most disappointing parts of this course might be the fact that I won’t actually be able to follow through on this research proposal.  I also haven’t really conducted any official field work in any of my professional experience, though I suppose I have participated in some less formal variations of the practice.  For instance, when I lived in Scotland, I helped to run a recurring experimental theatre night, where members of the public would come to watch theatrical works in progress.  The point of the event was to get some feedback from the audience in order to refine the works, but people were not initially forthcoming with their comments, and asking general questions as the audience left the theatre did not yield any helpful information.  We eventually resorted to handing out blank sheets of paper, and encouraged people to provide constructive comments on each performance, and we promised free drinks tickets to anyone who filled up both sides of the page.  Soon enough, we were handing out extra sheets of paper and the responses rolled in.  And for the most part, the comments were thoughtful and incisive.  It was by far the most effective form of survey I’ve ever participated in, though I’d imagine that the offer of alcohol as a reward might not fly in academic research circles.