Socio-Political Biography

Socio-Political Biography Assignment
For this assignment, you will be required to prepare and submit a socio-political biography.
The socio-political biography is an account of an individual’s life, contextualized in the historical events
and the social, political, and economic issues of their times, and discussing what kinds of social
change strategies might have made a difference in their experience.
The assignment will be conducted in multiple steps:
● Biography Subject: You have already been assigned a classmate as your biography
subject/partner. You should also have received an email from your partner listing the issues
that they have identified as significant to understanding their lives, along with some related
peer-reviewed, social science articles.
● Interview Preparation: Using this background research as a guide to your conversation, you
should prepare for an interview with your biography partner. In addition to reading the articles
mentioned above, you can
a. Look for additional articles/books on the issues, and
b. Prepare a set of questions that you will use to interview your biography subject.
● Interview: You will conduct an interview of your subject. This interview constitutes the core of
your biography – you will draw on what you learn from this interview as you write. It is important
that you get the big picture of the person’s life story right, as well as any significant details. If
possible, please record the interview. This recording should be transcribed and submitted
along with your final paper. If recording is impossible, please take detailed notes.
1
You will be given time in class to conduct your interviews (April 12, 17), but you are free
to schedule additional interview time.
● Follow-up research: Using the information you collected during the interview(s), go back to
the library and find additional scholarly sources that help you explain this person’s life in terms
of public issues and social structures. You should also take this time to look for examples of
social change efforts (philanthropies, political officials, court cases, social movements, etc.) that
made, or could have made, a difference in this person’s life. You are welcome to use some of
the cases that were presented by the group projects in this course.
QUIZ #18 Update Sources (DUE: April 17): For Quiz #18, you are required to submit an
updated list of sources that expands on the original list your partner gave you. This new list
1 Some free transcription services include: Google Cloud Speech-to-Text (up to 60 minutes free per month),
Otter.ai, Speechify
Due Date: May 6
Length: 3-5 pages + transcript/notes of interview
should reflect the information that you collected during your interview.
● Write: Using the notes from your interview, your background research, as well as any further
research that may be necessary, you will write a 3-5 page biography of your subject, that
situates the facts and events of their lives in the context of relevant social and historical issues.
The format you choose may vary. You can choose to write about one major incident in that
person’s life, or tell a broader story that covers the arc of their life. Either way, you want to
present both the specific life experiences of an individual as well as the public issues that
shaped and explain these experiences.
● May 6, before 11:59 pm: Submit the final draft of Political Biography through Brightspace.
Length should be 3-5 pages. Please use 12-point font, double space, standard margins,
adhering to APA formatting guidelines and do not exceed the page requirement. Sources
beyond the interview data you collect and any lecture material should be cited using APA
format.
Guidelines for Conducting Ethnographic Interviews
● Identify yourself and thank the interviewee for being willing to participate.
● Prior to starting the interview, explain the purpose of the interview and what you will be asking
them about.
● Inform them approximately how long the interview is likely to take.
● Ask the participant if they have any questions about the interview process.
● Encourage the interviewee to relax and feel comfortable. One way to put the interviewee at
ease is to let them know there are no right or wrong answers and that you are interested in
their experiences and perceptions.
● Let them know that if they feel uncomfortable at any time, to let you know. If a specific question
makes them uncomfortable, assure them they do not have to respond to it.
● Ask open-ended, unbiased questions. Avoid making comments that could be perceived
as critical, judgmental or culturally insensitive.
● Show a sincere interest in what your interviewee is saying. Ask a follow up question if you do
not fully understand what they meant by what they are saying. Repeat back to them to be sure
you understand.
● Try not to interrupt them while they are speaking.
● Ask them if there is information they would like to share that you have not asked them about.
Ask them if they would like to add anything else after each question.
● Check in with them throughout the interview to be sure they are feeling comfortable.
● At the close of the interview, ask them if they have any questions for you about the interview
process.
● Thank them again for participating.
Due Date: May 6
Length: 3-5 pages + transcript/notes of interview
Examples
If you’re looking for examples of how to write a socio-political biography, I have listed below some
well-known examples. Some of the include famous politicians, where the “political” aspect of the work
is obvious, but others were written by people in other walks of life. These are all written as long-form
memoires or book-length biographies, and I’m not expecting you to write anything so long, but they
can give you a sense of how to write in a way that weaves individual experience with social and
historical change.
● Lea Yip, Free: Coming of Age at the End of History (2021) [available Bartle Reserves]
● Jung Chang, Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China (2003) [available Bartle Reserves]
● Dalton Conley, Honky (2001) [available online]
● Barack Obama, Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance (2004) [available
Bartle Reserves]
● Malcolm X, Alex Haley, & Attallah Shabbaz, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, As told to Alex
Haley (1965) [available online]