Writing Project 1:
Reading the Self
In her book Framing
Identities (1999), Wendy S. Hesford observes that when we read family
photographs we enter an “autobiographical contact zone”
where our narratives and the narratives of the photograph connect and
collide. This assignment asks you to select a family photograph of you alone or
with a group and write a three to four page essay in which you analyze the what
the photograph tells the viewer about who you are.
Remember
that a photograph is not a static image; it is a reservoir of memories, a
tangible object that holds intangible bits of the imaged self. To re-discover
some of those memories and some of those fragments of identity, Hesford suggests
the following questions:
·
Who is present?
·
Who is absent?
·
How is the photo
representing your life?
·
Is
that representation accurate?
·
What sorts of power
relationships does the photo reveal or obscure?
·
What key
events—emotional, social, economic—link up to the period represented in the
photograph?
·
In what ways does
the photo prompt you to reconsider your self-history?
·
What social and
cultural values and ideas shape the visual representation of self?
Move beyond
mere description and storytelling; examine the details of the photo closely and
carefully enough to be able to explore what they mean, what they suggest, why
they are significant. Contextualize your claims in some way; offer your reader
insight into larger cultural forces and phenomena.
Grading
criteria
In your essay I expect to see
·
a general focus
which should be clear in the first paragraph--
remember to keep the photograph at the center of your paper, so that the paper
stays unified all the way through.
·
details –
interesting, specific, colorful, and concrete details!
·
clear cultural
context
·
focused personal
tone
·
clear, coherent
prose that follows the conventions of edited American English
Calendar
for Writing Project 1
Wednesday, August 27
WP 1 assigned; invention activity (in-
class).
Friday, August 29
Draft 1.1 due; Expanding Ideas
Worksheet (in-class).
Friday, September 5
Draft 1.2 due; peer reviews in class (in-
class). Note: any peer
reviews not
completed in class must be
completed
and in the hands of the
writer by noon
Wednesday, September 7.
Monday, September 8
Individual Conference (completed
conference worksheet).
Wednesday, September 10
Individual Conference (completed
conference worksheet).
Friday, September 12
Revision Workshop (completed
worksheet—in-class).
Monday, September 15
Writing Project 1 due (including
“Afterwords”).