FINAL PROJECT PROPOSAL Step 1

• Due Monday by 11:59pm
• Points 10
• Submitting a text entry box, a media recording, or a file upload
• Attempts 0
• Allowed Attempts 3
• Available Mar 2 at 12am – Mar 13 at 11:59pm

Final Project Proposal (Step 1): What story do I want to tell? Identifying the story you want to tell

(Estimated length: about 2-3 paragraphs to one page = 250 words)

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Step 1: In this assignment you will simply write down briefly your choice of what you propose to write about for your final project.

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For this assignment, Step 1, please chose an option form the choices below and write about the story you want to tell. In this assignment uyou will share a draft or informal idea of what you would like to write about for your final proyect. You may chose from the menu below:.

First, chose ONE of the following possible two paths:

1) Your own family and/or personal story: either,

• documenting a historical and cultural collective experience you are familiar with, written from your own personal perspective; (you may use selected prompt from the “Family Legacies” handout to help you craft a family story) OR
• documenting a historical and cultural collective experience you are not familiar with, written from your own personal perspective;( you may use selected prompt from the “Family Legacies” handout to help you craft a family story)

2) Your story about anotehr person, family or community of your choice

• documenting a historical and cultural collective experience you are familiar with, written from your own personal perspective; OR
• your story about a family or community documenting a historical and cultural collective experience you are not familiar with, written from your own personal perspective;

IMPORTANT: Graduate students please contact your professor directly for consultation to propose a final project/reflection (and class presentation in any format) that adapts to and engages an aspect of your M.A. culmination project.

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Second, you may follow some of these further guidelines and questions to develop your the story you during Step 2. (See instructions will appear on Step 2, Whats the Story? to be released on Week 8).

FYI (moving ahead)

Step 2; (TBA Instructions on a separate assignment, Week 8) Your final project is, simply stated, to write a story and discuss it in the light of the course literature, and to share with your teams (on a special forum) in the final weeks (Weeks 13-14) in slides, oral presentation and/or podcast format. It can be a personal or team project.

Step 3: (TBA Instructions on a separate assignment on Week 10) , The final assignment (due by Week 15) will be an individual reflection on your project and the overall impact of the course literature and materials in your own thinking about trauma and healing processes in memory and life lessons. Recipes for Life and share your own “Healing Manual” (a separate assignment will be placed on the board for extra credit).

SUGGESTED STEPS/QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER to develop the story from Step 1 to Step2:

Please consider the following questions to get started and come up with ideas for your project:

Step 1) What Story –Select a difficult or ‘traumatic’ experience (or set of experiences): Whose story/stories do you want to tell and share? Why is this story important?

(What are the pre-concepts or presuppositions you started with?)

Step 2) How to Tell a Story-Tools for Story-Telling: What approach/perspective do you want to use to tell the story/stories? You may use a variety of tools: a) narrative: words on short essay or story; and b) you can add another form of communication: non-narrative: photography; audio-visual /artistic/music/song-writing/ creative tools You may also tell the story via podcast, video documenting, video narrative, a photograph or collection of photos or other visual forms of communication, discussion of a meaningful object, drawings or depictions, sculpture, zines or comic book-style, children’s story, cultural artifacts, etc.); your creative outlet can also be a curated collection of social media entries, letters/diaries/e-communications, art exhibits, murals, cultural products etc.

Describe what story/collection of stories you are interested in documenting, and go on an exploratory “fact finding” (collecting sources or data) to find a way to “represent” the story in narrative and other chosen method (brief verbal & written & slide show or other audio-visual narrative tools, as listed above).

(Step 2 will be released on Week 8 and will be due on Weeks 12-13).

Step 3) Create a Product to develop to share the story: Write a ‘brief’ of the story (using your documented data) and draft the “Healing Lessons” and Life Lessons you have learned as you tell/write the story in the format of your choosing (story or essay, poem, short story, blog, podcast, photography, video, etc):

• Please create a brief Healing Lessons or “Lessons learned” as part of your project – With each every we will create a collective handbook in the final weeks

(This step will be released in a Discussion Forum on Week 10 and will be due Week 13)

Suggested issues to think about:

• Are there (publicly) visible aspects of this story/stories? How do you find this experience impacted the subjects in your story? (you, your family, community, others/the population of your choice)
• Do you feel your work has documented and visibilized some aspects of what happened during this experience that may have not be envisible in our/your society/communities? (How so?)
• Are there aspects of these experiences subjects (individuals, families , communities) have gone through that they may still be processing, that are not visible outside your/their personal and family lives?
• Do you think the community, and our society, has processed or healed what happened (in the examples in your story)?
• Did you find any signs that healing has started, been processed. and/or happened?
• Are there any negative aspects that affect the subjects to this day?
• Do you see any signs of “growth” (as in Post-Traumatic Growth) from the experience?

Last Step: Final Reflection:(instructions to be released Week 10, due at the end of Week 15)

• What have you learned while doing this project? What insights or reflections have you gained? (this includes story and addressing your favorite course literature).
• In Closing, please create a brief Healing Lessons or “Lessons learned” attached to your paper (1-3 points)= to create a collective handbook in the final week (Week 15).

Please plan to share your project informally with a peer group, Weeks 12-14.

(Important Note: Final Project Assignment Step 1 Proposal (10%) Step 2, The Story (20 %,) and Step 3, and Final Reflection (10 %). Total: 40 %

*All steps will be released on Canvas by Week 10. Each Step will have a separate Assignment instructions on Canvas under Assignments.