Your primary assignment this semester is to create what I call an “itinerary of belonging.” This is a storymap through which you are to bring together class materials (readings, lectures, videos, etc.), selected historical sources, and experiences from your own life to reflect on the meaning of national identity and citizenship.
The storymap is not a paper. Although I do have some specific requirements for your essay (see below), our goal is not to write a typical college expository essay. Instead, your storymap will be a multimedia website, where you will use text, images, and maps to present your analyses and to draw connections. You are encouraged to play with the platform and experiment with different ways of representing your experiences and interpretations.
To illustrate, see my sample itinerary of belonging.
As will be explained in great detail as we go along, to create your own storymap you will select from a curated set of primary historical sources that speak to diverse experiences of nationhood and citizenship in Latin America. You can access that here: States of Belonging Omeka, although you will need to fetch the password from our course’s Canvas site here: Canvas Home.
You are not expected to complete any outside research for this project beyond the materials for the course.
Steps to States of Belonging
(details will be available on Canvas as the semester proceeds):
IMPORTANT: The Itinerary of Belonging blends analytical readings, historical sources, and life experience. As such, I understand that you might feel compelled to share sensitive and/or personal information. For this reason, your itinerary of belonging will only be shared with your small student group and with me, your instructor. The itineraries will not be available publicly on the internet. If, nonetheless, you have concerns about privacy, please email me and we will work out a solution. I do not want you to be left uncomfortable with the project.
