A story of people and structures. Interviewing about rural organizations

作者：Bisschop Chantal^*

来源：Revue Belge de Philologie et d'Histoire, 2014, 92(2): 671-688.

• Boerenbond (Farmers' Union)
• Landelijke Gilden (Rural guilds)
• rural history
• oral history
• intersubjectivity
• self-reflection

In my research on the transformation of the Farmers' Union and the adaptation of this old agricultural organization to a rapidly changing world, I focused on the interaction between structures and actors. The archival and literature search was primarily suitable to reveal the evolving structures and dynamic of the organization. The oral sources shed light on the producing of meanings and perceptions of people of different levels in the organization. I used four groups of interviews, each with their own purpose, transcription and analysis method. My choice to start interviewing after elaborate desk and archival research had several advantages in the field of analysis and memory formation. The content analysis of a large group of oral sources was combined with an intensive narrative and performative analysis of small group of interviews which were transcribed according to the poetic transcription method which uses lines and strophes instead of continues sentences. The work story as a variation on the life story was a fruitful method in these last groups of interviews. I considered the intersubjectivity of oral history as an opportunity and a surplus value for this research. Therefore I critically reflected not only on the subjective position of the interviewees but also on my own contribution and impact on the research process.

• 出版日期2014