final reflection on cultural writing artifact
Please read the attached story (artifact) “Mr. Pirzada Comes to Dine” by Jhumpa Lahiri and write a 9 paragraph reflection using the inquiry method listed below. Each one of the bullet points must be its own paragraph. They paragraphs need not be very long.
We will be looking at artifacts using a method of analysis called the Inquiry Method. Analysis is simply the breaking down of something complex into components for further, detailed study. Culture is complex, right? Super complex. If you are within a certain culture, your insights and experiences will generally be different from those who are not within that same culture. So, we are going to follow the Inquiry Method to help us learn about cultures in a safe and structured and analytical manner. The Inquiry Method is a tool for critical thinking that has helped college students analyze artifacts through helping them answer a series of questions. You will be generating one-paragraph responses to the following questions (after some practice, and help from me, and collaboration from your classmates–don’t worry! We will follow the Inquiry Method together in parts first).
The Inquiry Method
- What are my initial impressions of this artifact?
- Who is the Maker of this artifact? What can we learn about him/her/them?
- What is the social, cultural, historical and/or political context of this artifact? In other words, what can we learn about the conditions which helped the Maker create this artifact?
- What is the form of this artifact?
- What is the purpose of this artifact?
- What are potential (or actual) implications of this artifact? In other words, what has been the social, cultural, or historical effects of this artifact? (If the artifact is relatively new, what do you think might be some possible or potential effects?) Here , we will explore reviews and comments of other people.
- What are two or three essential elements of this artifact? (this is the only section where I require you to have more than a one paragraph response. You should write as many paragraphs as you identify elements. Most students choose two or three. Two is minimum.)
- What are my reflections/responses, after completing the questions above?
You should notice that the first and the last questions allow for lots of subjectivity–your thoughts, feelings, impressions. No right or wrong here. The middle six questions may require more analysis, research, and support for your ideas, findings, and assertions. These should be much more objectively written. When you use outside sources, from the Internet or elsewhere, you are expected to document/cite those sources, using more than just a list of http: links.
I have attached a copy of the artifact story and a copy of a sample reflection response to help with understanding how it should be formatted.
