Self-reflection, Memoir, and the True Self

Janet A. Crosier- Self-reflection, Memoir, and the True Self It is important for students to find their places in society and in the world. Through literature, students are encouraged to reflect upon their own lives by gaining an insight into the lives of literary figures. How does the use of self-reflection, memoir, and literature enable students to discover their pasts and to see how they became who they are today? Self-reflection involves an interaction between an individual and his or her environment, in this case, students and their pasts. This research asks students in American Literature to examine their histories through pictures and to write memoirs from those family pictures. It also traces several past uses of self-reflective learning theory as a literary research study involving writings by Emily Bronte and Amy Tan. My students became their own historians and discovered their own places in the world around them by tracing their beginnings and development, pointing forward to what the future might hold. Students present their findings to the class. As extreme as it might seem, literature offers an understanding of the past while providing the pathway into one’s future