Author Archives: E.Peterson

A Quest for Agency: Don’t Let Me Be Lonely

Agency plays an ever-present role in Claudia Rankine’s Don’t Let Me Be Lonely: An American Lyric. Her original work is splayed throughout with cultural references–medical, entertainment, sports, political, historical, and literary. A constant theme that appears strung through these references … Continue reading

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A Fool is Born.

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The Japanese Magnolia

It is Spring in Charleston, you can tell, for all the flowers and buds have awoken from their cold slumbers to greet the warmth of the changing seasons. Among them all, it was the tuliptree that caught my eye, so vibrant and … Continue reading

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Empowering Frederick Douglass: Knowledge

The autobiographical tool of knowledge appears and plays a highly influential role in ‘The Life of Frederick Douglass.’  As Smith and Watson state, this tool questions aspects of knowledge such as source, cultural context, different forms (worldly, self, etc.), and … Continue reading

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Man’s Best Friend: Charleston Tails

Charleston Tails For my 20% project, I surveyed the people of Charleston about their dogs and the relationships between them and their pets. Having always had a dog growing up, I know the grand importance animals can play in people’s … Continue reading

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The Modest Modernist: Ben Franklin

Benjamin Franklin, in his Autobiography, demonstrates a life and way of thinking that greatly contrasts that of his predecessors, the Puritans.  Living against the typical conservative, religiously-devoted norm, he sought out knowledge in his youth and molded himself to be … Continue reading

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Confession of A Little Sister

It was the twenty-third of December, 1997 at my aunt’s house for the Christmas holiday.  All of the family on my mom’s side (the serious group) was there: my pre-divorced parents, my aunt and her husband, my grandparents, and my … Continue reading

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Cabeza de Vaca? Or Cabeza de Mentiras?

When reading the first part of The Narrative of Cabeza de Vaca, the concept of Authenticity as found in Smith and Watson’s text, strikes some curiosity in the reader.  This specific aspect of autobiographies focuses on who tells the story … Continue reading

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The Mysterious “Self”: Autobiographical Subjectivity

Personally, I resist the idea that Smith and Watson continually make in their book Reading Autobiography, suggesting that a “self” is not unique, but rests on the basis of pre-determined languages and politics, influences, etc. While it is true that … Continue reading

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