Reflecting on my year in ASTU. It was an incredible experience that went by so fast it feels like just yesterday I was writing our first paper of the year — genre analysis. ASTU has by far been my most challenging course this year, but it has also been the most rewarding. I can confidently say that I have grown significantly over the year. Not only have I further developed my writing but also improved my ability to cope with the stress of university. ASTU has taught me to unlearn, relearn and grow my writing skills in ways that will help me greatly throughout my university career. However, this course has taught me much more than just writing skills. I have learned so much about life writing of minority groups. Starting at the beginning of the year from reading, I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai and Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank to finishing off the year with Diamond Grill by Fred Wah. I have learned an immense amount about life narratives written by individuals with the greatest focus on those of a minority group. We have learned about individuals struggles, such as Ryan Knighton in Cockeyed; groups struggling like Fred Wah in Diamond Grill.

Something else I am really going to take away from this course is everything that I have learned about British Columbia. Having lived in BC my whole life and I am embarrassed to say that I did not know much about its history. I am so appreciative for all the work we did in ASTU this year focusing on minority groups in British Columbia. It was amazing to look at the archives in the Rare Books and Special Collections (RBSC) at the UBC library and being able to get my hand on original documents from Chinese immigrants coming to Vancouver. Having the opportunity to flip through the incredible sketch books of local artists like Jack Shadbolt is an opportunity i am immensely grateful for.

After looking at Jack Shadbolt’s amazing sketches in the RBSC I later ended up working on a group project studying his sketches. This was the only group project I participated in all year and I learned a lot about myself as well as what I need to improve in a group setting in order for my voice to be heard. Our group focused on his sketches of birds and how they progressed and changed throughout his sketchbooks. Jack Shadbolt is not usually known for his bird sketches and that is why we wanted to focus on them — to bring a new aspect of his work to light. We presented our project on a Tumblr page which was a great way to present because it allowed our group to share with viewers as much information as we wanted and photos of all the bird drawings we found in his sketchbook.

Overall ASTU has been an incredible experience that has taught me much more than just academic skills and will continue to help me throughout my university experience and in life.

The genre of life narratives can be expressed through a wide range of mediums and photography is one that is becoming more prevalent today. Photographer Janelia Mould, from Cheeky Ingelosi Fine Art, specializes in photography that “tells a story” (Stewart, par.1.) Specifically, she does a series of images that represent depression. These images attempt to show her audience what it feels like for a person suffering from depression. Many of the images are portraits of her in various settings with one or more parts of the body missing. For example,  a few of her photos feature bodies without heads and some others include missing arms or legs. Mould explains the reason for having bodies with missing limbs is to show the “raw emotion felt by sufferers of depression” (Stewart, par.2). Every photo also has a caption, and many of them are quotes Mould finds online.

Below is one of her images which is captioned: ‘Dangling’ “Why can’t I try on different lives, like dresses, to see which one fits best?” – Sylvia Plath

Source: My Modern Met

The article “Interview: Photographer Explores Own Depression with Surreal Self-Portraits” by Jessica Stewart explains Mould’s art and an interview with her about her project on depression titled Melancholy– a girl called depression. Mould explains how her own depression inspired her to do this project and she describes her “photography as a therapeutic outlet” (Stewart, par.6). She also explains how through this project she wants to help people struggling with depression, for them to know that they are not alone. Mould describes depression as feeling “isolated, hopeless and empty”, she wanted her photos to allow others with depression to see someone else sharing a similar experience and give them hope that “there can be a way out/through it”  (Stewart, par.10). Mould also explains how she has received many letters from people who have viewed her art and how it really helped them when they were struggling with depression.

Mould’s photography project is similar in many ways to the Humans of New York page (HONY) . HONY is a website that shares photos of individuals (sometimes small group) along with a short write-up of something about them. There’s a series on HONY called “Invisible Wounds”,  which shares individuals stories of mental illness and trauma. HONY’s website along with its various social media pages is viewed by a large number of people every day, which is why it is incredibly important they have a series dedicated to “invisible wounds”. It is important so that people can learn what it is like to experience mental illness or problems in people’s lives that are not visible to a by stander. It is also significant for those who struggle with similar issues to see, on a popular website like HONY, that they are not alone. As Mould explains in her interview, depression makes you feel isolated and alone, which is why her work along with HONY can have a large impact on the audience while also teaching them a lot about “invisible wounds”.

Mould’s work and HONY both share life narratives through pictures along with brief descriptions. These life narratives have an impact on their audiences while expressing individuals stories that are important for people to hear. Life narratives have the ability to engage and move readers because they share real stories that the audience can relate and learn from.

This is a link to Janelia Mould’s Facebook page which shows much more of her amazing work. 

Here is a link to the “Invisible Wounds” page on HONY 

Works Cited

Stewart, Jessica. “Interview: Photographer Explores Own Depression with Surreal Self-Portraits.” Photography. My Modern Met, 10 Mar. 2017. Web. 20 Mar. 2017.

In Sociology, I recently worked on a project where I interviewed my Mom about her experience as a young mother balancing work with a new baby and connected it to a book by Arlie Russel Hochschild called The Time Bind: When Work Becomes Home and Home Becomes Work. Hochschild studies in her book a large American corporation while looking at how employees manage their work and family time, ranging from the top executives to the factory workers. By interviewing my Mom, I was able to see the similarities she shared along with the differences to the workers in The Time Bind. The questions I asked her were mainly focused on how she managed work with a young child, the process of going on maternity leave, and the support she received from those close to her.  My mom found it very difficult to manage work with a new born baby as she was a single mom, when she returned home from her work day she was still “working” doing baby duty 24/7 until she would drop me off at daycare the next morning.

A similarity my Mom shared with the lower level workers in The Time Bind was that they were afraid for their job security when asking for part-time work or a cut back of hours after having a child. It was the fear for both my Mom and the workers that their jobs were easily replaceable and the companies that they worked for could hire someone else to do their job, who did not have a child and wanted to work full time. Something that many workers faced in Hochschild’s The Time Bind was balancing the work at home or the “second shift” as she called it with their spouses (182). This was a significant difference my Mom had with many of the workers in the book, she was a single parent so she did not share the work at home with anyone she did it all herself.

After finding the similarities and differences my Mom shared with workers in Hochschild’s The Time Bind, I was very interested to see other reader’s reactions to the book and if they shared any of the same experiences. I analyzed reviews on Goodreads, trying to find readers connections between their lives and the book. One reviewer noted how reading The Time Bind brought back “so many challenges” of trying to juggle a “fulfilling career” and “home life with children” (Laura Torgesen). Another reviewer describes how she connects in many ways to the book and it gives her ideas on how to “motivate” her “environment and pupils” on ways to manage balancing work and family life (Adriana).  One reviewer commented that the struggles parents face in The Time Bind “is happening in our Country and to some extent throughout the world” (John). From the reviews I read on Goodreads it was clear that most readers shared the same struggles as the workers did in Hochschild’s book. It is evident that the difficulty of balancing work, whether it be part or full-time, and the work of family life at home is something not only my Mom, workers in The Time Bind and readers struggle with but probably many people across the world also face.

Works Cited

Adriana. “We think we were free but…” Rev. of The Time Bind: When Work Becomes Home and Home Becomes Work. Goodreads 17 January 2016. Web. 26 Feb. 2017.

Hochschild, Arlie Russel. The Time Bind: When Work Becomes Home and Home Becomes Work. Holt Paperbacks, 2001.

John. “Initially I approached this book thinking…” Rev. of The Time Bind: When Work Becomes Home and Home Becomes Work. Goodreads 25 January 2009. Web. 26 Feb. 2017.

Torgesen, Laura. “Arlie Russel Hochschild’s book The Time Bind…” Rev. of The Time Bind: When Work Becomes Home and Home Becomes Work. Goodreads 24 September 2008. Web. 26 Feb. 2017.

Every day we are displaying to the world a representation of ourselves. Whether it be through social media, life narratives or anything in between we are sharing a version of ourselves to the public. From the clothes we choose to wear to the way we act we are on display. When writing a life narrative the author chooses what to present of themselves and what stories to tell to the world. Specifically, in the graphic life narrative Persepolis the author Marjane Satrapi tells her story of growing up in Iran during the Islamic revolution. She tells her story through the character of herself (Marji) while using drawings and dialogue to show events that happened to her. Satrapi has the ability, like any other graphic life narrative author, to draw herself however she wants to be perceived by the readers. She also has the ability to choose which stories and facts to include in her writing, in order to tell the story of her growing up during the revolution the way she wants. When writing a life narrative the author has complete control in how they want the story to go. For example, the author could choose to only include sad or positive stories depending on the type of narrative they want to share. Satrapi uses many gory details in her book in order to show the great trauma she went through in her childhood. In Chute’s analysis of Persepolis, she notes how Satrapi describes her graphic narrative as “a text of witness” (Chute, 96). Satrapi is saying how her life narrative is a book that shares everything she witnessed during her childhood and the Islamic revolution.

Social media is a common way for people to share their lives with others. Instagram is a photo and video sharing app that is used by approximately 500 million users on average per month (Statista). A typical user’s account on Instagram shares memories and stories; from big life events to nights out with friends and the occasional selfie. No matter what outlet someone is using to express themselves they are always trying to present a certain image. On Instagram, for example, people generally want to present the best version of themselves possible by posting pictures they think they look good in. Just like a graphic narrative, Instagram is a place where people share stories through pictures and they can choose exactly how they want to tell their stories by the photos they share. It is very common for people to edit their photos and add filters to make themselves look better. Generally, people always want to make themselves look perfect or as close to that as possible and Instagram is a place for them to do that. I never really thought about how much people edit their photos until I specifically looked for it as I was scrolling through friends accounts. On average, for every 20-25 photos I looked at on Instagram only one didn’t have any filters or editing that I could notice.

Self-representation is everywhere. From graphic narratives to Instagram it’s a huge part of everyday life. We are always trying to tell something to the world whether we know it or not. For a personal example, I choose not to wear pajamas to class because I think some people might see me as lazy. This is a way I am choosing to present myself to the world. Graphic life narrative authors choose how they want themselves to look in their books in order to present a certain story. The pictures and the dialogues they use significantly contribute to the way the readers perceive the book. The same goes for Instagram; the photos people choose to post, the editing they use and the captions they write are all factors that contribute in telling the viewers something about themselves. As long as there are people and human interaction in the world there will always be self-representation in one way or another.

Cited Work

Chute, Hillary. Women’s Studies Quarterly: The Textures of Retracing in Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis. 36 Vol. Feminist Press, 03/22/2008. Web. 13 Jan. 2017.

“Instagram: Active Users 2016.” Statista. The Statistics Portal, n.d. Web. 13 Jan. 2017.

Music is huge a part of my life. For every mood and emotion I feel I have certain music I like to listen to. Music is like therapy for me; it has the ability change my mood completely just by listening to one or two songs. I chose to do a playlist to represent my first term at UBC. The reason I chose a playlist is because through the ups and downs that I have experienced here so far, I have always been listening to music while going through it. This playlist includes songs that represent every feeling that I have gone through while being at UBC. Creating this playlist was actually an emotional experience for me because I would think of when I was really homesick or feeling lonely and it would bring back all those emotions again. However, in the end, creating this playlist made me realize the amazing memories and friends I have made while being here. The songs “Closer”, “Don’t Let me Down” and “Cold Water” represent my first week of university. It represents a time before I started missing my family and before school work started getting very overwhelming. It was a time when I felt was happiness and excitement for all the new experiences I was going through. Once the excitement settled and school work started to pick up is when the homesickness started to kick in. I usually go through two stages of being homesick: the first stage is when I am purely sad and all I can think about is how I wish I was at home, and the second stage is when I am still sad but I am also happy because I am looking through photos of my family, and thinking about all of our crazy memories. For the first stage, I listen to pretty sad songs which is what “To Build a Home”, “Breathe Me” and “All I want” represents on my playlist. For the second stage, I like to listen to songs that my family listens to or songs that remind me of them, and that’s what “Banana Pancakes”, “Better Together” and “Need The Sun To Break” represent on my playlist. The rest of the songs on the playlist are ones that I listen to on a daily basis. They are the songs that I listen to when I am studying or relaxing, and I chose them because they never fail to put me in a better mood. The songs on this playlist truly represent me and my first term at UBC.

Playlist: “To Build a Home” by Cinematic Orchestra, “Banana Pancakes” and “Better Together” by Jack Johnson, “Need The Sun To Break” and “Hold Back The River” by James Bay, “Closer” and “Don’t Let me Down” by The Chainsmokers, “Riptide”, “Mess is Mine”, “First Time” and “Georgia” by Vance Joy, “Cold Water” by Major Lazer, “Breathe Me” by Sia, “All I want” by Kodaline, “Ophelia” by The Lumineers, “My Way” Calvin Harris, “2 Heads” Coleman Hell.

Here is a link to the playlist on Spotify 

The blog post “I am not your wife, Sister, or Daughter” brings to light a number of overlooked issues I find rather fascinating. Initially, the writer discusses rape-related subjects such as people’s reactions; Specifically those from the Steubenville rape case that occurred a few years ago. What I found to be quite surprising, as well as totally revolting, was that there are people whose reaction to rape victims stray from what I would consider logical and instead take an unexpected approach— Academic or athletic standings excuses the severity of rape. People are defending the rapist by stating that their performances academically and/or athletically could only lead to the conclusion that they are not horrible people and therefore deserve a lesser charge. For rape… This is utterly shocking to me. I have often seen studies based off of murders in the US in comparison to the population which somehow results in the fact that: in a lifetime you will have passed anywhere from 15-25 murders on the street. Whether this is factual or not it still supports my point. If I am walking past a murder on the road, by appearance they are a good person. This does not excuse the fact that they are a murder. This same logic can be said for these young people who are being convicted of rape. Simply because in the classroom or on the sports field the accused appears to be a good person, does not excuse them from being a rapist. Being a University student allows me to relate to this topic in a much more real fashion than I would like to. Walking around campus means seeing many “concert” posters and signs that scream ani-rape. The fact that these are needed is a misunderstood problem and relates back to the blog when the writer talks about the wife, sister, and daughter quote. Within the blog, it is stated that it is unnecessary to view the victim as family because it is still rape. It is not a matter of sympathizing differently from a stranger to your sister. Regardless it should be such a matter of common sense that no analogy should be required. When I think of this I think of the signage around campus because I think it is sad and frightening that the fact that signs need to be hung means people truly don’t get it. I think it is sad and frightening that people need the reminder. I think it is sad and frightening that people around the world are still being raped and our response is signs and analogies.

Work Cited:

Belle, Jar. “I Am Not Your Wife, Sister or Daughter.” The Belle Jar. N.p., 20 May 2014. Web. 07 Nov. 2016.

Life narratives are an important part of literature. They allow the reader to experience the author’s life through their eyes. By doing this they are exposed to the author’s emotions and point of view, which the reader would not have experienced if it wasn’t a life narrative. Both Anne Frank and Malala Yousafzai have written very inspiring life narratives. A Diary of a Young Girl by Frank and I am Malala by Yousafzi share incredible stories of two young girls going through something nobody should ever face in their lifetime. Both girls stories have raised awareness in their own ways around the world.

Frank’s diary shares her experience as a young Jewish girl living in Germany during the Second World War. Having to go into hiding with her family to escape from the Nazis is one of many examples of the writing in her diary. Anne’s diary allows the reader to learn about the horrors that are happening to the Jewish people through her eyes, and get a personal experience of the War. Frank’s book is taught in middle schools today for students to learn about the War. I think teaching the book at this age is important because the readers would be around the same age as Frank was while she was writing. When I studied this book in school, it was shocking to me what Anne was going through at 13 in comparison to what I was.

Malala’s book is an incredible story of how she stood up for the right for girls to go to school against the Taliban at the age of fifteen. The book is set in Pakistan during a time when the Taliban had control over most things — including schools for girls. That did not stop Malala from going to school. Malala had very different views from the Taliban when it came to gender equality (I am Malala). Her advocacy for her beliefs is what made her a target of the Taliban and is why they attempted to murder her. Being targeted and shot for her views was not going to stop Malala.  She wrote a book to share with the world her experience and to show people the discrimination against women that is occurring in her country.

These books show how two young girls different experiences can influence so many people around the world. Anna and Malala come from very different backgrounds and religious views, but they are both seen just as inspiring. By looking at the books together it is clear how it doesn’t matter where they come from, the time they are set in, or what they have faced, both girls and books are equally influential in the literary world.

Cited Work

Yousafzai, Malala, and Christina Lamb. I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban. New York: Little, Brown, 2013. Print.

Frank, Anne. The Diary of a Young Girl: Anne Frank. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1952. Print.

The book I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai incredibly moved me as I read it, and by reading the reviews on Goodreads I noticed it did the same for many others as well. The most common thread among the reviews is how inspiring Malala is. Her bravery, courage and caring soul are a few of her many traits that captured the readers and made them fall in love with her and her book. Some reviewers noted: “I admire her courage and her tenacity”, “Malala is the symbol of enlightenment in modern age” and “It continually blows my mind that a girl my age had the courage to stand up for something when the odds against her were heavily stacked” (Diane, 2013) (Vikas Lather, 2013) (Alexandra, 2013). It is evident through the reviews how inspired the readers are by Malala’s story, and how surprised they are that someone so young could do something so great.

Another common point that occurred through the reviews was how Malala’s story opened the readers eyes to the terror that is occurring in Pakistan, and how they had no knowledge of severity of the country before reading her book. Natasha expressed: “I was indeed aghast to discovere that in certain parts of the world, women are being treated as second class citizens. It brought a tear to my eyes, how Malala and her friends struggled to continue their education despite the horrors of war”, Lather also said, “It is very sad that homicidal and illiterate people continue to dictate what adult minds should write,read and speak” (Natasha, 2013) (Vikas Lather, 2013). Malala’s book shares a part of the world that not many people are accustom to, a part that faces severe discrimination and violence on a regular basis. Her book not only shares a story of incredible heroism but also informs the world of the the sever discrimination that is occurring in Pakistan, and the lengths some will go to prevent girls from getting an education.

Link to Goodreads reviews

Cited works

Yousafzai, Malala, and Christina Lamb. I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban. New York: Little, Brown, 2013. Print.

Lather, Vikas. Review of I am Malala, by Malala Yousafzai. Goodreads, December 19th 2013.

Alexandra. Review of I am Malala, by Malala Yousafzai. Goodreads, December 3rd 2013.

Diane. Review of I am Malala, by Malala Yousafzai. Goodreads, October 12th 2013.

Natasha. Review of I am Malala, by Malala Yousafzai. Goodreads, December 3rd 2013.

Lamb, Malala Yousafzai Christina. “I Am Malala.” Goodreads. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2016

Welcome to UBC Blogs. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

The globally recognizable diary of Anne Frank holds countless avenues of discussable information. However, what I have found to be particularly shocking, and in some ways unfortunate, is the controversy surrounding the diary itself. Many different cases have risen that are attempting to ban the diary from being taught to children of an elementary age as it is being accused of containing pornographic content.  One mother was claiming to be protecting her child from the content within the diary by attempting to get it banned. The unfortunate piece of this is the content itself that is being accused of being pornographic. A diary — not meant to be seen by anyone other than the author herself — elaborates on a young girl’s new experience with her own body. A Michigan mother says that her daughter, of 13, is too young to be reading something of that nature (International Business Times). A girl of that age is usually just beginning to discover the very scary new world of puppetry. Anne was only a year older than the mother’s child when she wrote in her diary. This only reinforces how that age group is curious about such things as they start to become more aware of them. The reassuring take away from this controversy is the reaction from scholars. Results of my research show that the predominant rebuttal to these claims are similar to my initial reaction — the mother’s perspective is skewed. Anne Frank lacked the ability to discuss the personal matters she wrote about in her diary with friends. This is a resource that most kids have. These discussions with friends could leave such conversations outside of the house and result in the mother being unaware of what is actually going on in the child mind. For this reason the mother could be given the benefit of the doubt when she was thinking of her daughter as being too young for these things. Unfortunately these accusations were made and now the controversy over the content within the diary travels with it.

O’Toole, Emer. “Anne Frank’s Diary.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 02 May 2013. Web. 19 Sept. 2016.
Brown, Eric. “Michigan Mom Calls For Bans On The Diary Of Anne Frank Due To Sexually Explicit Material.” International Business Times. Media Inc, 29 Apr. 2013. Web. 19 Sept. 2016.