FRIDAY, AUGUST 8TH
@Nica, please feel free to add and comment.
Nica and I were brainstorming about the initial questions to ask. While roleplaying as interviewer and interviewee, we noticed the different lived experiences we had during the pandemic and the measures, actions and rules that impacted daily life, blurring the lines between the private and public spheres and redefining them within society. Since this research covers different countries with a heterogeneous yet overall similar approach to the pandemic in terms of policies, mobility and movement restrictions, public health and enforcement of rules, it also presents a multi-layered challenge that we are facing conceptually when it comes to questions.
How can we combine and encompass various countries’ policy implementations on public (global) health, and the different experiences with state regulations and civil/public engagement and consequences that this has brought about?
Tackling the pandemic in a way that the interviewee does not experience any trauma flashbacks during this time, but rather tells a story of how online interfaces became the new norm for information and knowledge exchange, where people participate in political activism beyond traditional voting.
The foundation on which we build fruitful and insightful conversations in interviews that lead to ethnographic insights is based on emotions, memories and epistemological definitions of how political activism was performed, experienced and perceived, and how it was linked to online participation and activism.
Based on this, we are tailoring some questions that are a work in progress:
Memory Lane
- Tell us about the first time you remember getting in touch with politics. How, when and where did that happen? What was it about and how did you feel about it?
Rite de Passage (transition phase)
- Was there a moment during 2020/2021 when something fundamental shifted for you in how you encountered politics or political decision-making?
- When you think about how you used to stay informed about politics before 2020 - what changed during the pandemic?
- Can you walk me through a typical day in [specific month/year] - how did you navigate getting information, connecting with others, or expressing your views?
Screen Life
- Tell me about a moment when you realized online spaces had become central to political life
- Describe a time when you participated in something political online that felt meaningful to you
Institutional Encounters
- Tell me about a situation where you felt your voice or opinion could actually influence political decisions
- How did you experience the way political institutions communicated with citizens during this time?
Emotional Landscapes
- What feelings come up when you think about how you engaged with political issues during that time?
- Can you recall a moment when you felt particularly connected to or disconnected from your community during the pandemic?
Inclusion/Exclusion
- Were there moments when you felt excluded from political (public) processes? And which ones where you felt particularly included?
tbc