Due before Session 2:
Length: 1 ½ – 2 pages, typed, double-spaced.
Bring FIVE copies to class for peer review.
Preface:
People often express themselves through their personal treasures: photos, posters, trophies, jewelry, items of clothing, or pieces of artwork. Sometimes individuals receive these objects as birthday, holiday, or graduation gifts or as a commemoration of an achievement or a trip to another country.
At other times people buy these items for themselves or build or create their own memorable objects, such as photos or artworks. Sometimes these “objects” are inscribed on the body as tattoos. Anthropologists and psychologists have written at length about the power of objects to symbolize an important event or element of the lives of individuals and communities.
From earliest childhood, transitional or comfort objects often help young children in separating from parents and adjusting to day care or preschool. When adults move from one place to another, they also often make sure to bring treasured objects and take care in displaying or storing them in a special place.
Writing Assignment
Write 1 ½ – 2 pages describing a treasured object(s) and analyzing its importance to you as a person. Be sure to slow down your narration to describe the object physically; tell the reader how and when you acquired it. If the object has a “life history” (e.g., travelling with you as you or your family moved), narrate it. In what ways has your relationship to this object changed over time? Has the object itself changed over the years?
How does this object enable you to reflect on your personal identity, your values, or your relationships with others? What would it mean if this object were lost, stolen, defaced, destroyed, or erased? Is the object replaceable? Can you imagine gifting this object to someone else at some point?
During session 2, we will peer review these pieces and discuss the potential for developing these narratives into longer pieces over the course of the semester. Note: The writing goal for this exercise is to generate material/themes (possibly for your first essay) and to stimulate your thinking about what you would like to write about this term. This first exercise is not necessarily the introductory section of an essay (although, in some cases, it might be) or the start of your first essay.
