Post on 14-Apr-2017
Identity and Life Writing
SECOND LECTURE
sjoerd-jeroen moenandarmoenandar@gmail.com education | storytelling | culture
EXERCISE 1
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sjoerd-jeroen moenandarmoenandar@gmail.com http://moenandar.blogspot.com
Try to remember an event that had a profound impact on you
Now write it down as life-writing – and focus on how you experienced that
event
o From Latin: idem (same)o Who are you? The story
of a lifeo Who is in charge of that
story?o This lecture:• Identity according to
psychology• Identity according to
philosophy
IDENTITY
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sjoerd-jeroen moenandarmoenandar@gmail.com http://moenandar.blogspot.com
o Identity is a process (identity formation)
o Identity has two ‘sources’:• Essence of the
individual• Essence of the
community
THE READER OF FICTION…
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sjoerd-jeroen moenandarmoenandar@gmail.com http://moenandar.blogspot.com
oWithin you (essence of the individual)
oOutside of you (essence of the community)
oThe question of autonomy
WHERE IS YOUR IDENTITY MADE?
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sjoerd-jeroen moenandarmoenandar@gmail.com http://moenandar.blogspot.com
o Autonomy:• From Greek: autos
(self) nomos (law)• Autonomy: answer to
your own lawo To tell someone’s
story is to take away their autonomy
o Responsibility
AUTONOMY AND LIFE WRITING
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sjoerd-jeroen moenandarmoenandar@gmail.com http://moenandar.blogspot.com
IDENTITY
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sjoerd-jeroen moenandarmoenandar@gmail.com http://moenandar.blogspot.com
o Does identity exist??• I.e. do you have an unchangeable core?
oWithin you (essence of the individual)
oOutside of you (essence of the community)
oThe question of autonomy
IDENTITY (CONT.)
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sjoerd-jeroen moenandarmoenandar@gmail.com http://moenandar.blogspot.com
o There is a ‘true me’o Your ‘true me’ can be
found in:• Your soul (religion)• Your nationality• Your race• Your gender• Your DNA• Etc.
ESSENTIALISM
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sjoerd-jeroen moenandarmoenandar@gmail.com http://moenandar.blogspot.com
o No ‘true me’ – just an endless series of masks
o No autonomy?o Or: more choice than
with essentialism? • (You chose the mask
you want, no prisoner of your, race, gender, DNA, etc.)
NON-ESSENTIALISM
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sjoerd-jeroen moenandarmoenandar@gmail.com http://moenandar.blogspot.com
o Looking for experience, not truth
o Follow the flow of the conversation
o Fill in the storytelling checklist (but not as a survey!)
INTERVIEWING FOR LIFE WRIGING
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sjoerd-jeroen moenandarmoenandar@gmail.com http://moenandar.blogspot.com
EXERCISE 2
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sjoerd-jeroen moenandarmoenandar@gmail.com http://moenandar.blogspot.com
Find someone who has experienced something
Use the checklist for a story to turn the experience into a story. Discuss with the person you’re
interviewing.
(This is life writing: turn someone’s life into a story)