“Girl” and The Concept of Critical Lenses
Make sure to read all of the following instructions carefully!
For this discussion post, I want you all to focus on one thing – beyond that, any other key points you’d like to make about the story are welcome!
The main focus for this discussion is YOUR organic lens, meaning what did you naturally pay attention to in this story? Why do you think you read it this way (this could be your race, gender, sexuality, religion, where you grew up, etc.; what about your experience influenced your reading?)
Along with better understanding the way in which we apply lenses to a story, this will also help us bring another element of critical thinking and reading into the mix – metacognition.
Metacognition, put simply, is thinking about thinking. Why did I just think that? Where did that come from? Why did I make that connection/assumption or draw that conclusion? Lots of times we make connections or assumptions automatically, on what feels like a gut-level, but don’t interrogate where they came from.
If I tell you to picture a doctor in your head right now, do you see a man or a woman? What color is their skin? Are they particularly attractive? Non-descript? Unattractive? Chances are, you could trace back to your own experiences, racial background, gender identity, media consumption, and many other factors to figure out why you saw the person in your head that you saw. That’s metacognition! Asking ourselves why did I just think that and then actually seeking out the answer to that question!
So, for this discussion, I want you to answer the following prompt directly:
What did you bring to the reading of this story based on your own history, personal experience, religion, race/ethnicity, gender, etc.? How did that influence what you focused on in the story? What things did you notice that were unfamiliar to you and how did you address those parts?
Discussion Post Requirements (10 points)
Clear writing, attempts to use analytical and critical thinking-focused language
1-2 specific examples from the text – use quotes for quoted language, cite the page number as well
Clear attempt at tracing a personal foundation to the lens you used while reading and annotating the story
