The prompts for you to consider in your reading journal for each class session will be listed below. The questions are intended to be open-ended, so please feel free to answer in whatever way you see fit.
Each entry should be approximately 50 words or more.
Unit 1: Autobiographies as Historical Sources
Date | Topic | Question(s) |
---|---|---|
Mon., Jan. 25 | Course Introduction | No entry |
Weds., Jan. 27 | How do historians work? | In the episode, each historian offers his or her explanation for how and why they study the past. Which of these explanations did you find most intriguing, and why? |
Mon., Feb. 1 | What is an autobiography? | According to Bjorklund, in what ways do autobiographers craft their narratives to respond to their audience? |
Weds., Feb. 3 | Telling the Story of One’s Life | Based on your prior knowledge and on reading Samson Occom’s account, what do you think are the most important elements that make a piece of writing an “autobiography?” |
Mon., Feb. 8 | Terms for Life Stories | Select two of the “tools” that Smith and Watson describe for reading autobiographies. How do you think you can use them in class as we read additional autobiographies? |
Weds., Feb. 10 | Terms for Life Stories | Select two of the “tools” that Smith and Watson describe for reading autobiographies. How do you think you can use them in class as we read additional autobiographies? |
Mon., Feb. 15 | No class meeting | Presidents’ Day |
Weds., Feb. 17 | Exposing Slavery through Autobiography | Why do you think Bibb chose to describe these particular events from his time as an enslaved person in the way that he did? |
Mon., Feb. 22 | Honors Project: Reading an Autobiography | Briefly discuss your interests for the project: do you have a particular person in mind? A time period or place that most excites you? |
Weds., Feb. 24 | Experiences of War | What most surprised you about Fazio’s account of traveling to Iraq? |
Mon., Mar. 1 | Author Visit: Teresa Fazio | Share the question you would like to ask Dr. Fazio. |