OT360 Creating the Self Through Narrative: Acts of Life Story Production

OT360 Creating the Self through Narrative: Acts of Life Story Production

Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy

at the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry

Instructor: Gelya Frank, Ph.D.

Fall 2012

Section / Class Time / Class Room / Office Hours / Location
47719R / M/W 10:00-11:20 am / VKC 211 / M/W 11:30-12:30 / Outside VKC -- TBA
SOS B54 – In case of rain
47720R / M/W
2:00-3:20 pm / TTH 106 / M/W 3:30-4:30
/ Outside TTH -- TBA
SOS B54 – In case of rain

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Analysis of life stories, life histories, and testimonies in social interactions, texts, and films. Life stories are an occupation to re-create the "Self" in response to conflict and change.

INSTRUCTOR CONTACT: Dr. Frank is Professor of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy and Anthropology. She will respond to emails weekdays within 1-2 hours: .

OFFICE HOURS: Office hours will be held outside VKC or THH, location to be announced. In case of rain, office hours will be held in SOS B54.

EMERGENCY CONTACT: In case of an emergency, please send an email immediately to the instructor. You may also phone the USC Division of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy at (323) 442-2850 for assistance. Ask the front desk receptionist to phone your instructor and be sure to leave your phone number for a call back .

ATTENDANCE: If you cannot attend a class session, please contact your instructor at the earliest date possible so that arrangements can be made. For religious absences, please see the USC Holy Days Calendar and Policies: http://orl.usc.edu/religiouslife/holydays/absences.html

LEARNING OBJECTIVES: The course is intended to provide students with a rich opportunity to explore the structure, meaning, contexts, and impact of their own life and the lives of others through narrative approaches. Personal reflection and creative expression will be encouraged, balanced by a rigorous introduction to scholarship on biographical and other narrative approaches. Students should expect, on completion of the course, to have learned or achieved:

· An ability to define and use the concept of “occupation”

· An introduction to theories about narrative as they relate to the doing of things

· Familiarity with story structure in Western and certain non-Western societies

· Ability to understand how life stories are constructed and to construct life stories using various methods and techniques

· Recognition, application, and methods for clarifying empathy

· Increased insight into the political economic and phenomenological situations of patients and families in clinical practice and medical research

· Enhanced appreciation of the transactional relationship between individual and culture, self and society

· Appreciation of the impact of historical and political events on a person’s life experience

POLICY ON DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION:

This is an academic course. The course does NOT provide occupational therapy or any other type of clinical service. This is NOT a course in occupational therapy practice. As scholar Tristine Rainer writes, however, in Your Life as Story (1997), discovering story in your life can be a healing experience given “the restorative powers of personal narrative” (p. 14).

The course asks students to make voluntary use of personal and family experiences in order to understand the construction of lives through narratives. Students are NOT required to disclose experiences that could injure their reputation or self-regard in any way, cause personal distress, or expose them or others to stigma or ridicule, invasion of privacy, or legal action. Disclosure of specific experiences or incidents during class discussions or in written assignments will be entirely voluntary. Students should exercise judgment and discretion in regard to which information they may wish to share with the instructor and with other students. No student information will be used for any purpose other than instruction within the course or, in the future, conversations or reports about teaching methods and approaches. Any possible further use or dissemination must be negotiated between students and instructor in writing.

Policies will be discussed with students on the first day of class. Students as a group will participate in setting rules and policies for mutual respect and confidentiality. Students are expected to begin the course with the expectation of completing it. Any student who may later experience unexpected emotions or possible distress as a result of their exploration will be encouraged to talk individually with the instructor during office hours and may request a different set of assignments. Any such students may be referred or encouraged to explore student counseling services.

REQUIRED BOOKS:

· Frank, Arthur W. (2010). Letting Stories Breathe: A Socio-Narratology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

· Frank, Gelya. (2000) Venus on Wheels: Two Decades of Dialogue on Biography, Disability, and Being Female in America. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.

· Hoskins, Janet. (1998). Biographical Objects: How Things Tell the Stories of Peoples' Lives. Routledge.

· Mattingly, Cheryl. (2010). The Paradox of Hope: Journeys through a Clinical Borderland. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.

· Rainer, Tristine. (1998). Your Life as Story. Los Angeles: Jeremy Tarcher Publishers.

· Skloot, Rebecca. (2011). The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. New York: Broadway Books.

· Spiegelman, Art. (1996). The Complete Maus: A Survivor’s Tale. New York: Pantheon.

· Zipes, Jack. (2012). The Irresistible Fairy Tale: The Cultural and Social History of a Genre. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

ON-LINE RESOURCE:

Anna Deavere Smith (2012) Let me Down Easy (1 hour, 55 min.)

http://video.pbs.org/video/2186573615 -- View between 11/19 and 11/26

ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADES:

Your Life Chart – Due 9/5 (P/NP)

Students must complete this assignment with a P grade before continuing to complete any further assignments.

Select Any 7 Short Assignments (up to 3 pp. each) – See Syllabus for Due Dates (70%)

A page of instructions will be provided in advance of each due date:

1. Your Storied Life (10%)

2. Your Life through a Scene (10%)

3. Your Life through a Biographical Object (10%)

4. Letting a Non-Self Story Breathe (10%)

5. Your Father or Mother as Character (10%)

6. You as Indirect Character (10%)

7. Your Life in Historical and Political Context (10%)

8. Your Cultural Biography (10%)

9. Your Biography in the Shadow (10%)

10. Your Biography as Fairy Tale (10%)

11. Your Life Story as Clinical Subject (10%)

12. Your Immortal Life (10%)

Academic Slam – 10 minutes each student -- 12/3 (10%) -- Formats to be discussed in class

Portfolio -- Due Last Day of Class – 12/5 (20%)

Part A. Your Life Chart-- including revisions or scanned versions

Part B. Your 7 short assignments with instructors’ comments

Part C. A scholarly essay (12-15 pp.) – Turn in a hard copy AND send by email

Part D. A self-addressed, prepaid envelope or box to fit your portfolio

Your essay (Part C) should meet the following objectives:

· Examine your life in relation to another person, an historical context, or complex cultural situation;

· Use at least one of the previous short assignments as a springboard for further development;

· Cite from your previous assignments as data;

· Add greater insight and depth than before by expanding on the life story or life history material;

· Use readings in this course to analyze issues of the narrative construction of self;

· Make judicious use of outside sources as might be relevant and useful to your construction (for example, in building an historical context);

· Incorporate photos or other images as might be appropriate;

· Include citations, quotes, and references using APA or MLA format

LATE OR MISSING ASSIGNMENTS: Students who do not participate sufficiently and/or adequately during the course will be put on notice. A student who has not completed their required number of assignments in a timely way will have their grade lowered at the instructor’s discretion and, depending on the seriousness of the situation, may not pass the course.

UNIVERSITY POLICIES ON DISABILITY AND ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:

Statement for Students with Disabilities— Any student requesting academic accommodations based on disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from the DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to me as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30am-5:00pm, Monday through Friday. The phone number for DSP is (213) 740-0776.

Statement on Academic Integrity— USC seeks to maintain an optimal learning environment. General principles of academic honesty include the concept of respect for the intellectual property of others, the expectation that individual work will be submitted unless otherwise allowed by the instructor, and the obligations both to protect one’s own academic work from misuse by others as well as to avoid using another’s work as one’s own. All students are expected to understand and abide by these principles. Scampus, the Student Guidebook, contains the Student Conduct Code in Section 11.00, while the recommended sanctions are located in Appendix A: http://www.usc.edu/dept/publications/SCAMPUS/gov/. Students will be referred to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs and Community Standards for further review, should there be any suspicion of academic dishonesty. The Review process can be found at: http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/SJACS/ . Please review the policy and understand that serious consequences will follow any known breach of academic integrity.

USE OF BLACKBOARD: This syllabus will be posted on Blackboard https://blackboard.usc.edu/

as Version 4. If any further corrections or adjustments to the syllabus are needed, the instructor will notify students that an updated version is available. Students will be notified in advance by email if they are expected to download documents and bring them to class. All students are expected to use and regularly check their USC email account for notifications about this class.

Week

& Day

Date

Topic

Reading Due

Portfolio Options

1 / M

8/27

I. INTRODUCTION

Review syllabus
Topics, learning objectives, and course requirements
Setting up class guidelines
Disclosure, confidentiality, and mutual respect /

W

8/29

Narrative Genres:

Life history, life story,

testimony, cultural biography,

biographical objects . . .

Occupational Science Theory:

Situations & Occupations

Methods Workshop:

The life chart, genograms

/ G. Frank (2000):
Ch. 1, My Introduction to Diane
(pp. 1-11);
Ch. 2, The Crisis of Representation (pp. 12-23)

Also recommended:

Hoskins (1998)

Introduction, pp. 1-7

2 M

9/3

Labor Day Holiday – No Class

9/5

/ II. TELLING STORIES AND
CONSTRUCTING STORIES ABOUT THE SELF
Your Life as Story, 1
What is a story? /

A Frank (2010)

Introduction: Six Stories about Stories

(pp. 3-19)

Rainer (1998)

Ch. 5, The Nine Essential Elements of Story Structure (pp. 65-82) /

Note-- Required:

Your Life Chart

(P/NP)

3 M

9/10

/ Your Life as Story, 2
What are your life themes? /

Rainer (1998)

Ch. 9, Portraying Yourself: You Are Your Hero (pp. 140-151);
Ch. 15, Theme: String for Your Pearls (pp. 212-230)
Also recommended:
Ch. 11, Truth in Autobiographic Writing (pp. 173-183);
Ch. 12, How to Write What you Dare Not Say (pp. 184-191);
Ch. 13, Dealing with Your Dark Side
(pp. 192-201) /

9/12

/ Your Life as Story, 3
How would you tell your life story? /

Rainer (1998)

Ch. 4, A Story Depends Upon How You

Slice It (pp. 47-64);
Ch. 16, Scenepearls (pp. 231-243);
Ch. 18, Jumping and Leaping through Time (pp. 267-287) /

Your Storied Life

(10%)
/ / Also recommended:
Ch. 17, Anatomy of a Scene
(pp. 245-266)
Ch. 14, Writing the Body

(pp. 202-211)

4 M

9/17

/ Rosh Hashanah – Instructor away /

9/19

Biographical Objects

Expressing Lived Experience
through Cultural Tropes /

Hoskins (1998)

Introduction, pp. 1-7

Ch. 1, The Betel Bag (pp. 25-58);

Ch. 2, Domesticating Animals and
Wives (pp. 59-82) /

Your Life through

A Scene (10%)

5 M

9/24

III. UNDERSTANDING WHAT

STORIES DO IN EVERYDAY LIFE

Letting Stories Breathe, 1

Order and Chaos:

How Stories Support Human

Dignity in the face of Calamity

A. Frank (2010)

Read first:
Ch. 6, How Stories Can be Good Companions (pp. 145-160)
Then read:
Ch. 1, The Capacities of Stories (pp.20-44) /

Your Life through a

Biographical Object

(10%)

9/26

Yom Kippur –Instructor away

Letting Stories Breathe, 2

What Do Stories Make Narratable? /

A Frank (2010)

Ch. 3, Dialogical Narrative Analysis as a Method of Questioning (pp. 71-85);
Spiegelman (1996)
Part I, My Father Bleeds History
(pp. 9-161) – Mostly pictures! /

6 M

10/1

Letting Stories Breathe, 3

What makes Stories “True”
and Interpretations “Good”? /

A. Frank (2010)

Ch. 4, Dialogical Interpretation and

Stories’ Particular Truth (pp. 86-111)
Spiegelman (1996)
Maus, II, And Here My Troubles Began (pp. 167-295) /

10/3

IV. SHARED STORIES: NARRATING SELF AND OTHER

A Survivor’s Tale, 1

Artie’s Father (Vladek)

as Character/Narrator

Spiegelman (1996)

Maus I-II, Mark scenes where Vladek makes key choices; What is the situation, what is the occupation?
Rainer (1998)
Ch. 10, Portraying Others (pp. 152-172) /

Letting a Story

Breathe (10%)

7 M

10/8

/ A Survivor’s Tale, 2

Artie as Interpreter

(and Indirect Character )

Spiegelman (1996)

Maus I-II, Mark scenes where Artie makes key choices as interpreter; What is his situation as son and narrator? /

Your Father or

Mother as

Character and/or

Narrator (10%)

10/10

Venus on Wheels, 1

Constructing a Life History as
Cultural Biography /

G. Frank (2000)

Ch. 3, “There’s Nothing about the Disabled Woman and the Disabled Culture”—Diane DeVries, 1976 (pp. 24-42); /

You as Indirect

Character

(10%)

8 M

10/15

Venus on Wheels, 2

Identity Politics and
Social Transformation / G. Frank (2000)

Ch. 4, Disability in American Culture:

Transformations in Diane’s Life

and Life Story (pp. 43-59)