Students examine their own culture to better understand authors’ perspectives

Students examine their own culture to better understand authors’ perspectives
Posted on 11/05/2024
Cultural identity boxesThrough the creation of cultural identity boxes, English II: World Literature and Composition students at Oakville High School learned more about themselves and the impact an author’s culture can have on their writing.

“We want to help students understand their culture and how that impacts their decisions, their writing and the art they make,” said Sara Stancliffe, English II teacher. “That will help them to apply that to authors around the world and how they’re creating their own art.”

The unit began with a discussion about an author’s perspective and stereotypes. Then, students were introduced to the cultural identity box assignment.

Assembling cultural identity box
Image: A student adds a playlist of music that cultural important to them to their cultural identity box. 

“We looked at the idiom of putting someone in a box and what it means to limit someone to one thing,” Stancliffe said. “We turned that into what it would like if we took ownership of our own boxes that we’re putting ourselves in.” 

On the outside of the box, students included external characteristics that someone would know about them from initially meeting them. On the inside of the box, students showcased things people would see over time, like beliefs, thoughts and feelings.

Stancliffe introduces activity
Image: Stancliffe introduces the cultural identity box activity to students.

“The cultural identity box took a deep dive into what we learned in ‘The Alchemist’ and applied it to our everyday lives,” said Natalia, a student. “It made us look into ourselves and what we base our values on.” 

Learning how their culture impacts their own art helps students think about how an author’s culture may impact their literature.

“If you can see what the author’s perspective is in the story they’re writing, it can help you better understand the meaning of the story,” said Mir Ali, a student.

Presenting cultural identity boxes
Image: A student presents their cultural identity box to classmates.

After presenting their cultural identity boxes, students read folktales from seven cultures around the world: Haudenosaunee Native American, Japanese, Turkish, Bulu of Cameroon, Indian, Jamaican and Mexican. They discussed how common folktales are reflective of the society’s values and culture at that moment in time. 

The unit culminates with a research project connecting culture to art. Students research things like the dominant religion, language, holidays and government of a culture. After reading the folk tales, students developed research questions about their culture that they used to further explore how elements of the culture relate to themes and literary devices in folktales. 

Honors English II students take the research a step further by using the Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index to discover folktale variants and patterns across cultures. Using their research, they answer the question: Why are there similarities and differences in the stories we tell to understand ourselves and the world around us?
The Mehlville School District strictly prohibits discrimination and harassment against employees, students or others on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, or sex including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity and other characteristics protected by law. The following individuals have been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies: contact Adam Smith at 314-467-5006 or [email protected].