Assignment
For our first assignment, review "This I Believe" essays on the npr.org website. Read through several, and think about your own "This I believe" stories. The prompts you have to choose from for this assignment are grounded in ideas related to cultural capital and its power in our society and in our experience as individuals. Developing critical consciousness in our understanding of our values and the beliefs we hold is an important step in analyzing texts and writing (and thinking) critically. Your essay should be between 1000 and 1500 words.
Once you have read through some "This I Believe" essays that serve as examples for organization and scope, consider what stories you have to tell related to your own beliefs.
About me to model essay after:father of 2, military background, finance major, outdoors hobbies
Specifically, choose one of the following prompts to write on for this assignment:
Option 1: Think about a time you were faced with seemingly insurmountable odds but overcame them anyway. Specifically, consider what role dominant cultural beliefs or power structures may have played in holding you back, and discuss how you worked against these and outside of them. What belief did you form (about yourself, others, etc.) based on this experience?
Option 2: Consider the various groups you are part of. Each has it's own codes (language, dress, discussion topics, interactions, rules, etc.). Maybe you are in a Greek organization, play intramural sports, and are part of a religious group. Or, perhaps you work as a server, identify as a runner, and enjoy gaming. Whatever your hobbies and/or interests, consider how you interact differently among different groups. Perhaps you even act differently with your family and with your friends. Maybe you display certain traits or characteristics at school that you do not display at home or in other public spaces. Reflect on the way your participation in/identification with various discourse communities (groups) has shaped your beliefs. Identify a specific belief that has resulted from your participation in/identification with various a discourse communities how that belief came to exist because of your identification with this group (or groups).