For this assignment, I’m asking you to read two short essays on exile from the same collection, which can be found in Week 12 Readings. They both take exile to mean very different things, but I think both are useful for giving a variety of ways to think through what it means to “belong” from somewhere–or not to belong anywhere.
Your answer to the questions below should be at least 400 words.
1. What do you take to be the fundamental difference between the way these two texts characterize exile/belonging?
2. Comment: For each text, comment on the ways that the text builds on, challenges, or enriches your understanding of place/space. Make connections to ideas we’ve been discussing in the class and make connections between texts. Use specific examples from the texts assigned today to show that you read and that you are engaging with the text and thinking through the ideas in the text. Note: do not merely summarize each text. Your comment should show what you are thinking about. What are you thinking about now that you’ve read these texts–that you weren’t thinking about before you read these texts? You may reference other discussions we’ve had to make connections and build on previous conversations. Your main goal here is to a) show you read and b) show the ideas that are “clicking” for you, personally–especially as those ideas relate to space, place, identity, and travel.
3. Connect: Draw specific connections to something beyond the readings for today, including particular academic/non-academic experiences, texts, and contexts. You might make connections to another part of your life/experience in or out of the university, a connection to another part of our class, a connection to another class you are taking or have taken, a connection to an issue in the media, etc.
4. Question: What is one question or idea you hope we discuss in class?
LINK TO READINGS: https://fiu.instructure.com/courses/77311/files/13149742/download?verifier=zPASlGGFD654cpcLIUaD14Q200z9tq2BYr17H82m&wrap=1
