Help me approach an uncomfortable academic assignment

November 16, 2023 2:11 PM

I've been tasked with interviewing a very specific type of person, and am unsure how to find that person in a way that feels ethical.

I am a counseling student, and have been tasked with interviewing a person who is 1) a different race than I am (white), and 2) experiencing another dimension of oppression (ie, disability, lgbtq+, religious difference).

While I know several people who meet this criteria, it feels extremely inappropriate for me to explicitly ID them as candidates and then put them in the uncomfortable position of feeling like they need to open up to me about such personal information for my school assignment. I would vastly prefer to do this interview with someone who can opt in to it freely and without pressure -- maybe even someone who might enjoy the opportunity to educate a future counselor on the kinds of things that would be important to know when working with clients in similar situations.

I am having a lot of difficulty finding such a person. I have tried reaching out to pastors of diverse churches and asking around my network of friends. I had two nibbles but both fell through, and now my deadline is looming.

Any suggestions, MeFites?

(And if this describes you and you'd like to answer my questions over zoom while enjoying a complimentary doordashed dinner, hit me up in PM!)

posted by apparently to Education (9 answers total)

If I were in this position and didn't feel comfortable asking anyone directly, I would put the general problem out on Facebook to see if anyone I know volunteers. It sounds like you already tried to get a few nibbles this way and lucked out. If that's the case, my "in desperation" plan would be to create a new Reddit account and use it specifically to ask in my college subreddit for volunteers.
posted by tofu_crouton at 2:15 PM on November 16, 2023

Does your school have any affinity groups? A polite email to one or more asking if there were any members who would like to volunteer might work.
posted by praemunire at 2:20 PM on November 16, 2023

Have you concidered one of your classmates to do this? It is nice to find other community members to do these assignments, but your classmates will also do just fine!
posted by AlexiaSky at 2:27 PM on November 16, 2023

apparently, maybe this single-interview task can appear in jobs, too, with the same door-dash dinner compensation
posted by Iris Gambol at 2:31 PM on November 16, 2023

I would also suggest putting it out there on FB. Something about you making yourself a little bit vulnerable feels like it evens the scales a bit. Also, from my experience, a lot of people are actually really interested in sharing their life experiences and thoughts - putting it out there in a semi-public forum allows them to identify themselves.
posted by lunasol at 3:15 PM on November 16, 2023

I'd say working through your discomfort on this might be part of the assignment. Here's some text for your social media of choice:

"Hey all! You might know I'm a counseling student. Right now I need some help with my homework! I am supposed to interview someone who is a different race than I am and who experiences a dimension of oppression beyond race. The questions are about X, Y, and Z, and I'd be glad to treat you to a doordash dinner. So, if you are a person of color and someone who is also an LGBTQ+ person, or of a minority religion, or disabled, and you'd be game to chat with me, please let me know. Thanks so much!"
posted by bluedaisy at 3:23 PM on November 16, 2023

I had to do this in my disability-focused counseling program. I put the question out to Facebook and found a friend of a friend.

The year after we did that a student with CP in a wheelchair wrote a critique of that assignment instead of doing the assignment, and then his paper got published in a Voc Rehab journal, and the program stopped assigning the assignment for a year or two.

That said, the person I interviewed said they enjoyed the interview, and I certainly got more from talking to them about perception of identities than I did from several chapters of the dense Psychosocial Aspects of Disability textbook.

But also, get used to talking to people about uncomfortable things.
posted by MonsieurBon at 3:24 PM on November 16, 2023

I'm up for it! I'm not white and have a religious difference as well. Memail me if I can help.
posted by cacao at 4:10 PM on November 16, 2023

Oh, WONDERFUL! I've memailed you, cacao!

Thanks also to all of you who posted such good, actionable advice. I truly appreciate it.
posted by apparently at 4:52 PM on November 16, 2023