American Memoir: From Autobiography to Solito to Cajitas

Registration is required to reserve your spot: https://wcls.libcal.com/event/16061976

What is the genre of “memoir,” and what makes an “American memoir”? This interactive event will include lecture and conversation with Dr. Jennifer McFarlane Harris, WCC Executive Director for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA), and Dr. Andrea Romero, English and Latine Studies Professor and Faculty Coordinator for IDEA at WCC.

Dr. McFarlane Harris will speak on the genre, trajectory and themes of American autobiographical writing, from Anne Bradstreet and Ben Franklin to James Baldwin and Javier Zamora. Dr. Romero will follow with explanation of the subgenre cajitas, or “little boxes,” which are vignettes in the vein of Sandra Cisneros. These cultural storytelling artifacts become teaching tools in the English composition and literature classroom, where students create cajitas that anchor their identities in lived experiences, memories, and guiding beliefs. Serving as a foundation for authentic storytelling in multiple languages, cajitas reflect students’ voices and journeys, even to publication in the Whatcom WRITES anthology!