-Write a 4 page paper (double spaced) about your family history- discussing relationships between family members. Talk about the different contexts and the impact of different contexts (country that people were living in, political context, social context, cultural context) on people’s lives and on the family narrative.
– Write a 2 page paper about your own narrative and how that’s influenced by different contexts. And like described above- share about what you want to keep and what you want to shift.
For the genogram, draw out three generations worth of your family- create your own form of drawing out your family- this is an opportunity to be creative. Include names of family members, date of birth, and date of passing (if they are no longer alive). Also make sure to draw out siblings in order of birth (like discussed in the lecture). Include brief relevant information for each family member. Some examples are strengths (ex: artistic), struggles (ex:substance use), job (ex: baker)- what you choose to highlight briefly is pretty flexible and is up to you. You can keep it brief and just put a few bullet points. Please draw out a key for us so that we can know what your different symbols mean. You’re free to make up your own symbols as well for the genogram, given that the table provided is not all encompassing.
Rather than explaining relationships through the genogram- expand on these relationships through writing. In your paper, describe the dynamics and relationships between different members of the family-these might not be static so feel free to also mention how dynamics fluctuate over time. Discuss the narratives talked about in your family and if there anything that’s being left out…or that you want to highlight more (that maybe your family doesn’t center). Speak to your family’s narrative and the role that context (the year, the country, culture, the socio-political context) has played in your family. Talk about how your own story is bridged with your family’s narrative. Explore what family/social/cultural values/lessons/ideas you want to hold onto/keep and what you want leave behind (ex: I want to hold onto showing affection through hugging but want to leave behind guilt around prioritizing/centering my own needs).
Discuss your own personal narrative and talk about the pieces of your narrative that you want to keep/highlight and maybe pieces of your narrative that you would like to shift (ex: instead of seeing myself as someone who isn’t understood and only paying attention to moments in my life where I’ve felt that way, maybe I’m going to highlight and focus on the times when I did feel understood- and thus in the paper I would talk about a specific instance in which I felt seen)- keeping narrative therapy in mind here. What’s your own narrative/story you have formed about yourself and how does that connect with your family’s? What are the alternative pieces that are maybe left out in how you talk/think about yourself?
For some folks this level of introspection is not something you might be used to in the context of school-especially for a grade. Share what you feel comfortable sharing. The point of this paper is not about the grade, but more about your own self exploration and processing (which I also recognize is easier for me to say as the lecturer and not the student- but the goal really is just reflection and introspection). Take this as an opportunity to take a bird’s eye view on your life and that of your family while also diving in. I’d like to encourage you to think of who you are, what you want to own about yourself and where you want to go.
So, while holding that this isn’t about the grade, I also want to just lay out some minimum things to get an A (so that there can be less focus on the grade and more focus on just writing):
-Get creative with a cover page- create a drawing, take a photograph, paint something to have as a cover page.
-Draw out a genogram with 3 generations- include people’s nuclear families (so if I have an uncle and he has kids- I’m going to include that). Include names, ages, dates of birth and death (if known- if unknown, mark that in some way). Have a few bullet points with info of your choosing for different people
Word docs are preferred
Please feel free to ask us any questions!
