Dialogue essay:
Theorizing Intersecting Identities
Deadlines:
Round 1: due November 3
Round 2: due November 10
Rounds 1 and 2 combined with first author's response: Due November 14
Active listening responses due November 21
Completed 3-part essay: due November 28
See below for specific instructions about each stage.
Overview
The central question we're exploring in this assignment is: How do theories of intersecting identities allow us to see our experiences as women/men in new ways? Here's a quote from Uma Narayan, for inspiration:
There is nothing inherently wrong about the project of giving an account of oneself--of one's specific location as a speaker and thinker; of the complex experiences and perceptions and sense of life that fuel one's concerns; of the reasons, feelings, and anxieties that texture one's position on an issue; of the values that inform one's considered judgment of things.
Giving such an account of oneself has much to recommend it, for all of us. It enables one to see, with humility, and gratitude, and pain, how much one has been chaped by one's contexts, to sense both the extent and the boundaries of one's vision, to see how circumstances can circumscribe as well as inspire, and to become self-aware to some extent of one's perspectives on things....
The assignment's purposes are:
To open and develop a dialogue among the class members about intersecting identities
To apply theory to self-reflection and mutual awareness
To put into practice what we have learned about the practice of dialogue as a critical component of feminist theory and practice
Each class member will participate in the development of three separate dialogues. The end product will be an essay to which three people have contributed. The first author is responsible for guiding the dialogue through the process--for keeping on schedule and forwarding the final product to the instructor via the SOCS drop box. Each person's contribution will be graded separately unless all three participants agree to take the same grade. (See Format guidelines, below.)
The success of this assignment depends on every individual class member’s active commitment to a sequenced process of responding to texts and to one another. Please keep this guideline in mind:
Everyone participates equally when working in teams or groups. (If for any reason you can't do your part, be honest about it with yourself, your classmates and the instructor. Don't expect anyone to cover for you.)
This means: if you are going to miss a deadline, let me know and talk with your dialogue partners about when you can give them your part. If you fail to come through, you'll be eliminated from the dialogue and receive a 0 grade. If one of your partners fails to come through, talk with me about it; you have the option of completing the essay without their contribution.
Requirements
Your sources for all of the rounds are any of the assigned readings for weeks 7 through 14. You may also include your Adopt-A-Book, if you see an effective way of using it.
The end products, due November 28, may take many forms (see some ideas listed below under “Format”); each essay, however, will be developed according to the following process.
Round 1 (due November 3)
Choose one (or more) of the assigned readings from the unit on Theorizing Intersecting Identities that sets you thinking about who you are. Your self-reflection may be sparked by your similarities to the author, your differences, your empathy, your surprise and sense of discovery, or any number of other kinds of reactions. Draft a 2-3 page essay, identifying what in the reading sparked your thoughts about your own sense of self, as well as why and how the passage worked this way for you. How does the essay make you re-think (or re-see) your own identity, or your understanding of the intersecting components of your identity? Look for the tough questions you can raise as a result of these reflections—you don’t need to have answers. Stretch yourself, take chances. Try to write in the spirit of feminist dialogue.
Place a copy of your first-round essay in the SOCS dropbox by November 3, and e-mail a copy to your second-round partner.
Round 2 (due November 10)
Draft a 2-3 page essay responding to the Round 1 essay you receive. This essay should be substantially different from your own Round 1 essay (not just a repetition of the ideas you already wrote about). Begin by commenting on how the other student's Round 1 essay sparks your reflections on your own identity, but go on from there to extend the dialogue. You might take a number of different directions:
You could compare and contrast the first author's reactions to the theoretical source to your own
You could analyze or try to answer questions she raises and suggest further directions for theorizing identities
You could apply another of the readings from weeks 7-14 that speaks to the issues she raises in a new way
Other possibilities will work as well; be creative, stretch your thinking, reflect on what the issues s/he raises mean to you.
E-mail your round 2 essay to the author of the round 1 essay and place a copy in the SOCS dropbox by November 10.
Compiling and Responding (due November 14)
On November 10, you will receive a Round 2 essay in response to your own Round 1 essay. Compile your round 1 essay and the round 2 response into one document, adding your response to the round 2 essay you received. Forward the combined document to both the round 2 author and your Active Listener, and place a copy in the SOCS dropbox by November 14. (For ideas about how to compile the essays, see the bottom of this page.)
Active Listening comments (due November 21)
Each class member will serve as an Active Listener for one of the dialogues developed to date, a dialogue in which you have not been previously involved. Your job at this stage is to review the dialogue as if you were listening carefully and thoughtfully, and write 1-2 pages about the ways that it addresses the guiding question for the assignment:
How do theories of intersecting identities allow us to see our experiences as women/men in new ways?
Your job is to describe the dialogue theoretically, honoring and creating knowledge from its particular attributes. While you might want to ask clarifying questions, your job at this point is not to criticize, judge, or give advice.
Send a copy of your comments to the Round 1 author, and place a copy in the dropbox on SOCS by November 21.
The finished dialogue (due November 28)
For the dialogue on which you are the first author, once you receive a completed Active Listening response, compile the three components into a single essay. You may add further comments if you wish. Submit the finished essay to the SOCS dropbox by November 28.
FORM
As in other written assignments, you should aim for technical and stylistic perfection, taking license with standard form when it will be effective in getting across voice. In other ways, the product probably may not look much like a conventional essay. Since each participant will be graded separately unless a group specifically requests a collaborative grade, the one requirement for form is that it be clear who is speaking when.
Some possible formats:
Or you might come up with an idea I haven't imagined yet. For inspiration, take a look at "Have We Got a Theory for You! Feminist Theory, Cultural Imperialism and the Demand for 'The Woman's Voice'" by Maria C. Lugones and Elizabeth V. Spelman (assigned early in the semester and available on SOCS).
If your collaboration becomes so organic that you would rather not separate out your voices, let me know before you submit the essay. Taking a collaborative grade, though it demands a lot of mutual trust and responsibility, has the advantage of giving you more flexibility in format and can result in a whole that is greater than the parts.
As always, let me know if you have questions! gray@tcnj.edu