Personal Narratives in the News

The personal narrative is one of the more popular opening assignments in the first-year writing courses at Sac State. Many are framed as literacy narratives, but that is a subgenre of the personal narrative.

The assignment is popular because it moves students toward several learning objectives at once. We have outcomes associated with how identity shapes writing development, how writing contexts impact the way we write, and how community impact what we write. So, it makes sense to start students off by asking them to reflect on the knowledge they brought to the composition classroom - and personal narratives are an excellent way to do that. 

From the AASL

I know I also enjoy giving students permission to use "I, me, my" and to situate themselves beside the model texts by Sherman Alexie or Gloria Anzaldua. 

It's a rewarding assignment when it's well-supported. 

And thanks to some absurd news out of Long Island, we now have new ways to support literacy narratives. If you haven't been paying attention to political news (and I can't blame you if that's the case), it has been revealed that a politician from Long Island, New York lied extensively about his personal history during his campaign. 

By itself, that's not really relevant to a composition classroom. But thanks to David Brooks, the conservative New York Times columnist, we have a way to examine this news through the lens of 'what it means to compose a personal narrative.' Brooks wrote a column on December 28th about what it means to compose a false personal narrative. It's a fascinating look at why and how people create narratives for themselves. It examines the limitations of the genre as well as the way personal narratives reshape both author and the audience. 

I can see this as a potential addition to reading lists. The column can help students consider what it means to be honest in a personal narrative and what it means to bend the truth. I have certainly suspected a bit of fiction writing in literacy narratives I've received in the past. This reading helps students understand what that approach means. 

If you (or your students) personally don't have online access to the New York Times, please remember that the Sac State Library has access.