by Sophie Bémelmans
As the inaugural host, we prioritized interview methodology due to widespread interest among project members in conducting oral history. We collaborated with the Swiss Museum of Games, under the direction of Selim Krichane, who graciously hosted this workshop.

Recap of our inaugural workshop
The workshop kicked off with an introduction by Eugen Pfister, Selim Krichane, and Yannick Rochat. This was followed by an insightful keynote address on oral history delivered by Felicitas Söhner, a lecturer in the Department of History, Philosophy and Ethics of Medicine at the University of Düsseldorf.

The afternoon session featured a comprehensive workshop on qualitative interview methodology led by the Lausanne Team : Pierre-Yves Hurel discussed interview preparation, Guillaume Guenat covered interview execution, and Sophie Bémelmans discussed interview analysis using the Grounded Theory Method1. Additionally, David Javet, Yannick Rochat, and Johan Cuda conducted a Swiss Game Garden workshop2.



The morning of the second day was devoted to discussing the tools in use for collaboration within the project, reflecting collectively on the interviews and exploring ways of sharing them with each other while ensuring that the personal data of interviewees was protected. Moreover, each project member provided an update on their current status and interests to keep everyone informed.
In the afternoon, we visited the museum’s archives with guidance from Selim Krichane and Denis Rohrer, museum curator.


This first workshop was a fantastic opportunity to connect with colleagues, share our strengths, and enhance our collaboration tools.

Reading portfolio
The participants were invited to read a portfolio in preparation for the workshop:
- Söhner F., “Teaching Oral History at University”, Wochenschau Geschichte, 2022
- Leavy P.,”Introduction” in “Oral History – Understanding Qualitative research”, Oxford University Press, 2011 (pp.4-25)
- Cullen, Margaret M., et Niamh M. Brennan. « Grounded Theory: Description, Divergences and Application ». Accounting, Finance & Governance Review 27 (10 mai 2021). → pp. 1-11 (until “Divergent Approaches to Grounded Theory”)
- Translated extract from the french book (4-5p.) : Blanchet and Montagnon, Une histoire du jeu vidéo en France. 1960-1991 : des labos aux chambres d’ados, Houdan, Éditions Pix’n Love, 2020, 447 p.
- Translated extract (2p.) from the french book : Delessert Y. and Libois J., Same player shoots again – Etude sur les salles de jeux à Genève, Annales du centre de recherche sociale n°20, Institut d’études sociales, 134p.
- Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (2010). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research [↩]
- https://swissgames.garden/ [↩]
OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
Sophie Bémelmans (August 21, 2023). First CH Ludens workshop: Focus on interview methodologies. Confoederatio Ludens. Retrieved March 18, 2025 from https://doi.org/10.58079/120zc