Rosh Hashanah

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Girlfriend Theology

This week I had the great pleasure of participating in Girlfriend Theology, a process/project happening in the Religion I classes.  Girlfriend Theology is about storytelling, women and girls coming together, listening to one another, reflecting on their shared experiences, making connections, and all that other great stuff!

Earlier this year, Mrs. Tramontin
and Mrs. Dawson issued an open invitation to the women of FSHA to share stories of their adolescence with the girls, who would then participate in a discussion of the stories.  The girls would be asked to share their personal connections to the stories, their ideas about the wider themes in the stories,  where they see God in the stories, and how they might apply the lessons of the stories to their own lives.  I knew right away that I wanted to participate.  Some of my best friendship moments happened during campfires at Camp Cheley, youth group meetings at the church I attended when I was in high school, and in the lounge of the sorority house where I was very briefly a member in college.  I am well aware of the power of sisterhood! But, what to write??? So many things happened during my teenage years!  What was memorable?  What stood out?  Where might our girls find meaning?  And then it dawned on me.  The perfect topic....my first kiss.  What more memorable moment could there be, really?

I read my story to four groups of freshmen this week, who now know much more about me than I know about any of them.  The experience was remarkable in its variety. Each group of girls latched onto different themes from my story, making no two discussions alike.  They talked about friendships built and broken, how boys might feel (though who can really know the answer to that?!?), feeling lost, feeling found, feeling  in-between.  They talked about purpose, decisions, consequences, dreams, and God.  They talked about Ryan Gosling and Nicholas Sparks.  They talked about love of all kinds.  Through these discussions, I could see girls making connections to one another, realizing they are not alone in their innermost thoughts and feelings.  I may have seen some friendships blooming before my very eyes, or some anxieties fading away, or some confusing thoughts finally becoming clear.

And here's the really great part: my story had very little to do with it.  While the story of my first kiss provided the context, and the entertainment, the discussions were about the girls.  The girls and their thoughts/feelings/ideas/fears/joys/faith/doubts/beliefs.  Girlfriend Theology gave them a way to dig in to some issues central to their lives, with structure and security...and sisterhood.

I loved it.  I hope I get to do it again.  Thank you, Mrs. Tramontin and Mrs. Dawson for inviting me to be part of this process.  Thank you, wonderful, thoughtful girls, for making me feel welcome, for responding so beautifully to my story, and for taking risks when you shared your thoughts with one another and with me.

GIRL POWER!  Love it.

Oral Histories and Freshman Religion

Right now in the Library we are featuring the creative work of the Religion I students.  They have been studying oral traditions and were asked to explore the oral traditions in their own families.  Not only did they interview an family member (most spoke with grandparents), they also found a way to present their family stories creatively.  You can read the full assignment on the class blog.  Their work will be in the library for the next few weeks, so come take a look.

While you are here, you can also take a look at some oral histories that have been collected in print, like Hard Times by Studs Terkel.  Terkel interviewed hundreds of people and recorded their recollections of the Great Depression.  You can hear many of the recordings of these interviews here.

Some other great oral history projects include:
The UCLA Center for Oral History Research
StoryCorps
The Veterans Oral History Project
9/11 Memorial

If you want to plan your own oral history project, here are some great tips from The American Folklife Center.