Blog #3
(Remember this prompt is totally optional; you are welcome to choose your own topic for this blog)

We have been talking about “master narratives” and “counter narratives,” specifically in the context of 9/11 and the post-9/11 era. How do you understand your knowledge of these events on those terms — are there some things that you have seen be represented more loudly than others? You could consider this question in terms of what The Reluctant Fundamentalist is inviting you to “remember” about 9/11. You could also think about another historical event that you are familiar with.

Blog #2
(Remember this prompt is totally optional; you are welcome to choose your own topic for this blog)

What issues in Persepolis resonate with today’s political climate? Can you identify with any of Marji’s struggles? Or does her life feel like a world away?

Blog Post #1 (due Oct 1)
**remember that this is a mandatory topic (choose option A or B). In future, there will be “suggested” topics only and you will have the opportunity to create a topic of your choice.

Option A

What questions does the “Arts of Resistance” exhibit raise for you? What do you find interesting or challenging or otherwise noteworthy about it? Choose 1 object from the exhibit as the focus of your discussion (it will provide your “anchor” to the exhibit). In designing your analysis of the object, take up one of the questions below, OR make your own question. If you have a personal relationship to any of the objects, feel free to use that personal experience of Latin American culture as part of your analysis.
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-How does your chosen object illustrate how, as the Museum website explains, “communities in Latin America use traditional or historical art forms to express contemporary political realities”?

-How does the exhibit itself construct knowledge? For example, you could think about what the exhibit’s mandate is (as explained as you enter the exhibit), what kinds of primary materials are included, and how they are explained. Use your chosen object to illustrate your analysis (your “for example”).

-Does your object illustrate or help you better understand a concept you have studied in any of your CAP courses so far? Introduce the concept and show how it connects to the object and what we can learn by thinking about it this way

Option B

Compare the exhibit to the readings you have done from I, Rigoberta Menchu. What connections can you make between the two “texts” and how they illustrate “resistance”? Given the focus of the exhibit, you may wish to also consider the significance of gender in both the testimonio and the exhibit. As in the first option, it would be a good idea to have a specific object from the exhibit to put into conversation with I, Rigoberta Menchu.