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Short Assignment 2 Personal Narrative (2 pp.) In approximately two (2)* double-spaced, typed pages, write a personal narrative that explores the following, based on the ice-breaker from the start of class on Thursday, January 30th along with readings from the first three weeks:

o Describes four (4) communities that you’re a part of and that you feel form important parts of who you are/how you see yourself;

o Explains why some are more important than others in terms of your own self-definition (in other words, which communities do you feel are most central to who you are?); and

o Unpacks the heterogeneity within these communities (in other words, what differences within the community can you discern? Are there aspects that you feel not included in even if you’re a part of the larger community? Are there conflicts or differing perspectives within a given community?).

Goal: This assignment should help define your own positioning, and reflect on how the people, pasts, places, things, and interests that you hold dear shape how you approach the world. As we all read, understand and contribute to the world from a particular perspective, it’s important to understand one’s own intersectional perspective before engaging with, critiquing and adding to that of others. In terms of writing, specifically, your goal should be to create a cohesive narrative that nonetheless addresses these disparate elements in a conversational tone. Structure: You can shape your assignment however you’d like to fulfill these requirements. Some options: divide your paragraphs by the specific communities you’re discussing; use one paragraph to define the communities, one paragraph to explain their relative importance, and one paragraph to unpack their internal complexities. Models: We’ve not read narratives yet, but some examples for tone and style are in week 5 if you want to glance ahead: Clarendon, “Keeping the Faith” and Allen, “Why I Went to Auschwitz” are both examples of personal narrative writing focused on making particular points (rather than exploring an experience in general). Due: Thursday, February 13th in hard copy

Note: This assignment will be used in a short peer workshop in class aimed to get you comfortable with workshopping other students’ work. Though you won’t be asked to verbally share your work with the class as a whole, this does mean that another student will be asked to read what you write (rather than this being a privately submitted document), so keep that in mind as you choose what to write! Ideally, this class will be a space where you can feel comfortable sharing pretty much anything, but I understand that it’s early in the semester so we’re all strangers still — and I don’t want you to end up being asked to share something you’d rather keep private! Feel free to use your journal as a place for more private analyses, as only I will read it, or you’re welcome to select a portion of the assignment to be workshopped if there are elements you’d rather not be shared.

*For this course, note that page limits are suggestions. I believe you’ll need around 2 pages to unpack all the things you’re asked to discuss at a decent (though quick, as these short assignments are meant to be unpolished, speedy writes) depth; it’s absolutely fine if you need more space — but be self-critical about the space you need. Plan to meet the page minimum