Early in our work, we listened to Gang of Four ask 'Why theory?' They sing 'We've all got opinions. Where do they come from?' This project asks us to explore where opinions come from—actually our whole views of the world—by examining bits of our personal and public histories. Where, exactly DID some of our 'opinions' come from?
Robin does his homework: Mom put this picture in my babybook on the page for 'Baby's Fourth Birthday.' Apparently I didn't have a good time because I was worried that the other kids' balloons would break and they wouldn't have a good time. From the left: Guy Huntley, Phillip Moreland, Donny Peterson, and me (what was Mom thinking with the flowered matching outfit?). Guy became an insurance salesman. Phillip (the goofy looking one) became a Catholic priest. Donny's father was a coal miner, and Donny followed him into the mines. He died there in an explosion (Consolidated Coal) at 52. And me—well, you know me. Somehow—even at four—we all knew that Donny was a 'working class kid' (though we didn't have the words for it). The other three of us were supposed to do better in school (and we did). It's almost a GRAND NARRATIVE of what a good boy does with his life. But I always thought Donny was smarter than the other two. He knew how to wire up the electric trains. He could track animals. He was a lot more fun. Maybe biology matters (I still worry about whether the other kids will have a good time). But class really matters. Class determined a lot of my history, and if I were writing this blogpost, I'd take that topic, and use this baby book and picture as my 'historical archive.'
Write a tiny mini-history in which you show how particular events, people, forces, spaces, objects and so on have contributed to your 'story' of who you are. Remember that we're suspicious of Grand Narratives, and that we know that every story will be shot through with ideology—can't not be. In fact, it' this critical look at the 'stories' that ordered our lives that can be the most interesting part of this project. Got images? Put 'em in. Find things that mattered (songs, movies, soccer, Girl Scouts, school, 4H)? Talk about it. Is it important who you (the writer) are, too? Talk about that. Need models? Well, that's tough, because all of us are so different and so are our stories. But no stupid Yearbook-ish generalities. No pious 'moral lessons learned.' Think Spiegelman—right, you maybe can't draw like him, but we can all try to THINK like him….
Look hard, talk with your family and friends, share your ideas with your group. Show us how a life took shape, and how you shape the story.
Does this one need 'theory'? Not so much, but it really does need to do our kind of work: to show us how big historical operations play out in our very intimate lives.
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