Sampler #7: Due Dec. 4
Read Brian Doyle’s essay “Being Brians.” “Being Brians.” – Alternative Formats Following his lead, look up your name in Google, Facebook, Twitter and other online address/telephone directories. For best results, place your full name in quotation marks. Focus on those who are NOT you, and construct a short essay in which you weave together whatever specifics you can about these Other-Yous. For Doyle, awareness of the other Brians shapes/alters his concept of identity or sense of self. What insights do the Other-Yous spark in you? If the spelling of your name is truly unique, then work around this and think of alternate approaches you can take [e.g. a birth name; different spellings of your name; what you would have been named if you had been born a different biological sex; the etymology of your name; and so on…] Please respect individuals’ privacies, and only obtain information that is free through a regular online search. Because of issues of time, you will likely not be able to contact anyone.
