Essay Assignment #1: 

Writing to Express Dimensions of the Self / 

Discussion and Brainstorming

First Draft Due September 15th (minimum 3 pages):

"Personal writing is as old as human history, rooted, as it is, in the deeply human need to tell one's story. In our own time, the need is particularly urgent since we are surrounded by a culture in which individuality is ignored, and therefore denied." [Nelson, Learning From Within: Ira Progoff and the Power of Personal Writing, Media and Methods 48 (1978)] 

A number of the readings we will explore together this semester will address issues of identity, how others perceive us and how we see ourselves, whether through gender, ethnicity, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, nationality, attire, personality, material belongings (or lack thereof), and/or social groups. Because one's sense of identity can be complex and ever evolving, people sometimes tend to look for identifying markers, so to speak, that often carry with them assumptions, stereotypes, and misunderstandings. 

Furthermore, many of us often “read” meaning into those identifying markers, not only about the other, but also when it comes to ourselves. (e.g. “She's Latina, so she must speak Spanish” – or, “I'm Latina, so I should know how to speak Spanish” or, “Because he is wearing dirty clothes with holes in them, he must be a homeless person” 

This inscription of meaning often stems from a long history of social, political, religious, and/or cultural practice. This by no means suggests that such practices are negative; in many cases, cultural, political, religious, and ethnic practices are deeply embraced, but often severely misinterpreted or misunderstood. However, in some instances, some feel confined and/or restricted by the perceptions that others, their society, their families, and sometimes even the person, him or herself, has about his or her own culture, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and/or sense of identity (just to name a few). More often, people feel unable to embrace the multiplicity inherent within them, for fear that they will be misread, misinterpreted, misunderstood, and ultimately mistreated. 

For example, I was born in NYC. And despite the fact that my parents were both poor starving artists, my grandfather was extremely wealthy (he just didn't share any of the wealth with my parents). My parents divorced when I was very young, and my mother moved, with me in tow, to North Carolina. I lived there until I was thirty years old, at which point I “escaped” (my favorite word to describe how I left) North Carolina. 

When I got to Massachusetts, however, and I was asked where I was from, I said New York City, even though I'd only lived there from birth until I was about three years old, even though I'd spent the last 27 years of my life in rural North Carolina. I spent practically my entire life in the south, and yet, I told everyone that I met that I was from New York. I did everything that I could to avoid acquiring a southern accent, because I thought that people with southern accents sounded uneducated at best, and downright ignorant, at worst. When pressed by my new northern friends, I would admit to having lived in North Carolina . . . but only in the “last couple of years.” I associated the south with ignorance, extreme conservatism, uneducated people, poor language skills, and awful accents. Because I had bad experiences growing up, I internalized my own stereotypes about southern culture and refused to acknowledge to anyone that I basically came from the south, myself. For all intents and purposes, despite the fact that I was born in NYC, I spent twenty-seven years of my life in the south, grew up in the south, and was no doubt heavily informed by southern life and tradition. 

What we want to do at this point, for the purpose of this assignment, is to try to think about these broader issues as it pertains to our own personal sense of identity and our complex and multiple dimensions of our selves. To this end, begin by choosing some cultural, ethnic, artistic, social, religious, or political symbol/image/artifact/piece of writing that holds great significance for you, whether positive or negative. [* For brevity's sake, I will use the word “piece” from here on out to describe any or all of the following that you may use to work with on your essay: image, symbol, piece of art, artifact, piece of writing (poem, short story), piece of music, etc.] For me, given the story I just told you, I might pick a confederate flag, which often represents the south . . . or some other piece that would, for me, represent southern culture. 

Working with a piece in mind, write an essay describing how the piece has notable significance in your life and why. Some questions you may keep in mind may be as follows (and these are just some suggestions to help you get started – you may use others):

• How does it reflect and/or inform the dimensions of your self? What does it say about you? How might it mirror parts of who you are or, perhaps, who you are not, but have often been perceived to be? 

• What was your first contact with this piece and what was your first reaction, response and/or feeling about it? 

• What came first? An initial gut reaction or response to the piece itself or an experience that then made you have a significant feeling about the piece? (for example, you may not have had any feeling about a violin the first time you merely saw one, but after having heard a master play it, you may now feel incredibly drawn to just the sight of one).   

• In what way has this piece had a profound effect on you? How might it have helped shaped who you are or your perception of the world around you?

• In what ways is your identity linked to this piece? What, if any, identifying markers do you associate with this piece? When you see, hear, touch, feel, or smell this piece, what assumptions, thoughts, feelings, etc. do you make or have?

• What meaning do you ascribe to this piece? And what meaning might others ascribe to this piece?

** Always, always back up your thoughts with some example, quote, or explanation.