As you read nonfiction by women about conflict, consider....

location:  geographics, gender, origins, race

how your place in life can affect your understanding

how you can transcend the boundaries of your own community.

culture shapes identity and understanding of experiences.

women are affected not only by race or ethnicity, but also gender.

people perceive things differently

locations of authors influence point of view

awareness of the author experiencing double 'isms' such as racism and sexism

Know yourself.  You cannot understand others without first understanding yourself.  Realize that race, religion, and socioeconomic status strongly influence your emotions and reactions to a text.  Sometimes, in order to better relate to the text, you must put your visceral reactions aside.

what you're not being told

nonfiction as a genre not commonly associated with female writers

nonfiction as a method to legitimize less commonly expressed viewpoints and experiences

why the author chose to express herself through the authority and voice of nonfiction

what knowledge is being imparted and why

expectations you have about "literature" may not be fulfilled.

nonfiction can present a more objective point of view.

women's writing, while it can be emotional, is valid.

the author's use of symbolism to portray feelings

AVOID ABSOLUTES!!  This causes the texts to become superficial.  Instead of asking HOW you ask why...Searching for the "root" of the problem, in essence, further obscures the solution.

Don't take anything at face value...RESEARCH.

the author may be persuasive rather than factual

• who is writing the piece

• who is the audience

• your own point of view and any prejudices you may bring to the reading

• limitations of nonfiction (it's bound to objectivity)

• the hidden subjective reality that cannot be conveyed in nonfiction

• one person's point of view does not always stand for the group's point of view

• the author's sources

the work is influenced by WHO the author is are and WHERE she is from

the things the author shares about the experience are selective

personal experiences and feelings are as valid as the objective truth

both the reader and the author have biases

focus on topics other than war--such as family, emotions, relationships, and everyday activities

remember that traditions and normal activities we take for granted may differ

Language falls short....

The reader applies their own context to the literature

There is more subtext than context

Nonfiction combines both the body (emotion) and mind (intellect)

Objectivity is the ultimate fiction

While nonfiction is true, it's not really 'TRUTH' to everyone - remember PERSPECTIVE

Remember that personal experiences are limiting: 

take responsibility for 'location' (shaping of point of view)

you can't be too close--DECENTER

Personal approach to what you're reading

Relationship between personal feelings towards the text and the author's ideas in the text

Fiction is NOT to be confused with REALITY.

Points of view may differ

Keep an open mind

Everyone is born into biases based on a variety of factors

The reading may cause discomfort.