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Too formal? About the pitfalls of narrative in the interethnic context

Publication |
2013

Abstract

Submitted contribution was based on fieldworks between non-reemigrated volhynian Czechs on the Ukraine, that means mainly wives and descendants from mix ukrainian-czechs marriages, in Lutsk-Rivne-Dubno. However, contribution states woman of ukrainian origin, ex-wife of volhynian Czechs, in which will be story of narrator confronted with pre-known fact about the intention of the interviewer research czech aspects in present Volhynia, but also with view her relatives and non-reemigrated volhynian Czechs towards her person.

Position dealing of examined subjects was built on secret, but implicit and explicit expressed contradiction about declaring ethnicity towards interviewer, which created intented (due to the idealized position of the Czech republic in Ukraine) demonstration "czechness", but nonintended result was the demonstration of the boundary marker as "ukrainianess". Contribution will show Goffman´s theater oposition - position of formalistic dealing, with which narrator approaches to narrator, and deconstructing of the "actual" position of narrator, with which should interviewer approach to narrator despite the efforts of oral history for integrity and respect to narrator recollection.

How can we see, issue of narration will be listed in interethnic dialog with respect to situationalist variability about ethnic boundary and will content elements of the biographical method and narrative interview with question about confidence to the interviewer.