Can an object give away who you are?
Discussing unconventional ways to portray someone no through their physical appearance but through their environments, first year students in Integrative Seminar 1 reflect on how our material belongings, the value we attribute them, and the way we keep them (or not) close to us reveal something of our identity.
Developing their observation skills, students are invited to decipher the meaning of objects brought by their classmates. Can a pendant speak about family bounds? A half smoked cigarette in a wallet about future expectations and old habits? A perfume evoke home and one’s character?Â
By getting inspiration from texts by Patti Smith, Jamaica Kincaid, Umberto Eco, among others, as well as learning to perfect their observing technique, students get to explore writing as a malleable tool allowing them to express their own views, but also to render someone else’s character and history.