Telling Your Story

Presentation and narrative due in class on Monday, April 17

Two to three pages, typed, double-spaced, printed out, and stapled.

This assignment consists of both a presentation and a write-up. We will break up into groups of five, and each of you will present your story in a five to ten-minute presentation to the other people in your group.
Your presentation will consist of a story that illustrates your dreams and concerns for the future and how those are connected to the changing political conditions in the US. For the presentation, you will present only for the other people in your group. You will not present for the whole class. You should use the written component of this assignment for your presentation, but you should not just read your narrative to the other people in your group.

Come to class on Monday, April 17, with the written part of this assignment typed, printed out, and stapled. You should refer to the written part of the assignment for your presentation, but you should not just read your assignment to your classmates.

Here is a suggested set of steps for completing the written part of this assignment:

Step 1. Consider yourself in relationship to the set of variables listed below. In your introduction, focus on the variables that are particularly important for how you are presenting yourself in Step II:

  • Rights and responsibilities based on immigration status
  • Relationships to capital
  • Relationships to states (particularly the governments of nations)
  • Relationships to state violence (from military and police forces)

In your narrative, if possible, refer to positions and not people. There are two reasons for this. First, this is especially important to protect you or people you mention from state violence such as raids or deportations. For example, do not name someone who is undocumented or is working illegally. Instead, state that someone close to you has been classified by the US government as undocumented or as working illegally. Second, you should aim to discuss concerns that are not just yours, but are the concerns of a group of people defined by one or more states.

Examples:

  • Undocumented: Limitations on the ability to find work; targeted by ICE
  • F1 Visa: Limitations on the ability to find work; could face travel restrictions, based on the country of origin; could have reduced opportunities for H1B and OPT
  • Family overseas: Home country could become a war zone
  • Family in Korea: Consequences of war between the US and North Korea
  • Family in Asia: Consequences of war between the US and an East Asian country
  • Family from the Middle East, North Africa, or South Asia: Consequences of war between the US and people in Muslim-majority countries

Step 2. Write a true narrative with the following structure

  • Introduction: Introduce yourself in terms of your circumstances and your dreams. End with a statement about how the election in November has changed your thoughts.
  • Body: The body of the essay should include a time leading up to a turning point and a time after the turning point. Make sure that you have a paragraph break immediately before the turning point. For most of you, the turning point will be when you realized what the possible consequences were of finding out that the US is more warlike and hostile towards people from other countries than you had imagined before. That moment might be immediately after the election, after the inauguration, or within the last few days.
  • Conclusion: Sum up what a warlike and hostile US might mean for you, people you are close to, people with similar positions as your own, and your dreams.
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