Personal Essay Research Articles

Edith Wharton Changed My Life

Abstract In this personal essay, the author recounts five decades of reading, teaching, and being inspired by Edith Wharton’s life and work, highlighting meetings with many noted Wharton scholars in the United States and abroad, and recounting the genesis of three of his twenty-seven books that deal with Wharton. Those works are a study of shame in her life and fiction, Edith Wharton’s Prisoners of Shame; an acclaimed comic mystery, The Edith Wharton Murders; and a revisioning of her classic novel The House of Mirth from the point of view of Simon Rosedale and his family, Rosedale in Love.

The Myhre Syndrome Foundation as a global modern support group: The business of rare.

Advocacy support groups grow into national and international organizations, but they all begin with personal experiences. As the parents to a newly diagnosed two-year-old son with Myhre syndrome, my husband and I were overwhelmed with the journey ahead. Thanks to networking, primarily through social media, we located other families living with Myhre syndrome and were quickly immersed in the challenges and joy of this community. Myhre syndrome, caused by pathogenic missense variants in SMAD4, is a rare connective tissue disease characterized by short stature, hearing loss, neurodevelopmental challenges, and fibroproliferation.This personal essay, written with physician partners, describes the development of a global advocacy group for patients with Myhre syndrome. I have the honor of serving as the founding Executive Director and reflect proudly on the great strides that our marvelous support group has made. We empower the global community impacted by this rare condition by providing meaningful and accessible data, educational opportunities, and connections with others going through similar experiences. Utilizing the expertise of our Board of Directors and my corporate expertise, we discuss how we have been able to elevate our ultra-rare community into a broader, more comprehensive network.

Running with the Devil

”I think we are well advised to keep on nodding terms with the people we used to be, whether we find them attractive company or not. Otherwise they turn up unannounced and surprise us, come hammering on the mind’s door at 4 a.m. of a bad night and demand to know who deserted them, who betrayed them, who is going to make amends.” -Joan Didion, Slouching Towards BethlehemRepresentation continues to be one of the most fraught questions facing the theatre and performing arts today: what is the responsibility of artists and the industry to represent minoritised and racialised bodies? How is that representation entangled with oppressive normative narratives surrounding those communities? What is the implication of this representation or lack thereof on the wider discipline and industry, which in the UK context, is still largely white and Eurocentric? Hence, the multiplicity of selves navigated by an artist living in a racialised body is a contested site that goes beyond the individual. My practice-research seeks to investigate how theatre practices can be reconstructed to privilegemarginalised bodies in discovering what Foucault calls practices of freedom—acts of resistance that discover alternative practices of authoring ‘self’. As an artist of color, I am particularly interested in the potency of grotesque-realism, a principle exegesised by Mikhail Bakhtin as resisting the notion of the individual body by reshaping it into a boundless, ever-transforming site for a democratisation and renewal of ideas and viewpoints. My personal essay, ‘Running with the Devil’ uses the above Joan Didion quote as a starting point and explores the grotesque-realist motifs of demons, food and orifices of the body through a positivist and postcolonial lens, drawing from inspiration offered by writers of color including Alexander Chee and Trinh Thi Minh Ha.

ĐỔI MỚI DẠY HỌC CÁC TÁC PHẨM KÝ Ở TRƯỜNG PHỔ THÔNG THEO CHƯƠNG TRÌNH NGỮ VĂN 2018

In the 2018 Literature Curriculum, literary works belonging to the essay genre are taught at both school levels: middle school and high school. The essay genre includes various genres/sub-genres, which are incorporated into textbooks at different levels as follows: travel essays (grade 6); personal essays, prose pieces, narrative essays (grades 7 and 11); reportage, memoirs, diaries (grade 12). Related concepts are frequently mentioned, such as narrative essays, lyrical essays, lyrical quality, fiction and non-fiction, authorial voice, etc. This article delves into the characteristics of the 2018 Literature Curriculum in general, and the essay genre teaching program in particular, examining the teaching of essays in schools, identifying principles, and suggesting directions for innovating and improving the quality of teaching essay works included in the 2018 Literature Curriculum. Keywords: Essay eenre; 2018 Literature Curriculum; teaching essay genre; high schools.

A Kaur’s story - the Beginning

A personal essay that highlights the journey of a Sikh immigrant woman who grew up together with a nation that was caught in contradictions, and came in her twenties to a ‘free’ world, where in her struggles to survive she lost herself. The essay highlights how she found her voice and is now dedicated to strengthening it not just for herself, but In helping the women around her by recording their stories and experiences so that history records the ordinary lives that make up the universe.

Objects as Armour; Objects as Container: Form and Thing-Writing as Means of Balancing Disclosure in Life Writing

ABSTRACT In 2023, I completed my Creative Writing PhD, which included a collection of personal essays that explored the relationship between autobiographical memory and objects, but also depicted some of my own experiences of grief, mental illness and other challenges. While writing these essays, I became attuned to the ways such self-representation can be psychologically and emotionally challenging, particularly when it involves drawing on adverse or traumatic lived experience—traditionally a somewhat neglected topic in studies of life writing ethics, but one whose relevance is increasingly being recognised in scholarly and wider publishing circles. In this essay, I delineate some of these challenges, suggesting they can be grouped into two distinct types: anxieties or issues relating to the production of the work, and those relating to its reception, post-publication. Accordingly, I identify two categories of potential responses to these risks: those extrinsic to the writing itself (such as consultation with a psychologist), and those intrinsic to it. In doing so, I draw on my practice-led research, and the work of essayist Brenda Miller, to propose that writing autobiographically with or through objects may be one way to help life writers to manage and mitigate some of the risks of self-representation.

Reflections on a Career in Pediatric Neuropathology, with a Note of Gratitude.

I am honored to be asked by the journal to write this personal essay about my career in pediatric neuropathology-a life of immense satisfaction, meaning, and fulfillment. My motivation to enter this discipline is highlighted, as is my decision to perform brain research in the sudden infant death syndrome, the leading cause of postneonatal infant mortality in the United States today. I also touch upon collaborations, mentoring, and experiences along the way-especially with the light microscope. I close with thoughts about the future of the discipline from my perspective as a lifelong devotee.

The Urological Tribulations of Michel de Montaigne: How the Essayist's Stones Influenced His Writings

ObjectiveTo explore how Michel de Montaigne’s battle with urolithiasis influenced his writings and philosophical outlook during the Renaissance period. Materials and MethodsThe study examines historical texts, Montaigne’s personal essays, and contemporary medical literature from the Renaissance era. A comprehensive review of Montaigne’s extensive travels across Europe, interactions with prominent physicians, and the various treatments he sought for urolithiasis is conducted. The analysis focuses on how these experiences shaped his literary work and philosophical reflections. ResultsMontaigne’s struggle with urolithiasis began at the age of 45, profoundly impacting his life and writings. His journey through France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Italy in search of relief, along with consultations with renowned physicians such as Félix Platter and Girolamo Borro, significantly influenced his philosophical inquiries into human suffering and mortality. Montaigne’s detailed accounts of his condition, describing 19 episodes of renal colic, offered early patient-centered perspectives in medical literature, highlighting the importance of understanding the psychological and emotional dimensions of illness. His therapeutic use of thermal baths and other non-invasive treatments reflected the medical practices of the time. ConclusionMontaigne’s experience with urolithiasis not only shaped his philosophical essays but also underscored the importance of empathetic and holistic patient care. His writings emphasize the need for integrating patient narratives into medical practice, a concept that remains crucial in contemporary healthcare. Montaigne’s legacy continues to inspire a compassionate approach to urological care, emphasizing the interconnected nature of physical and emotional well-being, and advocating for a more patient-centered perspective in medical treatments.

IMPROVING THE EIGHTH GRADERS’ SKILL IN WRITING PERSONAL ESSAY THROUGH STORY-BASED APPROACH

Abstract: The problem faced is that most of the students were demotivated in writing English, and they used to write limited sentences because they were struggling in both grammar and looking for ideas. Story-based approach is a hilarious strategy by using many stories that can be applied to build the students’ grammatical mastery as well as in improving their writing skill for personal essay in the form of a recount text. This current study aims to solve the problems and explain how the story- based approach applied. The research design employed is a classroom action research. The participants of this study are 32 students of 8B in SMPN 18 Malang. The data were collected from preliminary study, writing test, observation, interview, and field notes. The result indicated that the students’ writing skill of personal essays improves through this strategy. It was proven from the uplift of the mean score from preliminary study (47.00) to writing test (77.00). The writing test score has achieved the target score (70.00). A story-based approach contributes the students’ writing skill as well as grammatical mastery learning strategy, and it can also be applied for young learners and college students.

On Pandemics Being Productive

ABSTRACT: How can and do pandemic events become productive for everyday human experiences of death and dying? This social thought and commentary piece’s central argument examines the productive potential of pandemics, specifically COVID-19, by focusing on the early impact of the coronavirus in 2020 and its longer-term ripple effects. By grounding this personal essay in these early reflections on an extremely intense period of both personal and global chaos, it is possible to begin discussing what future historians, anthropologists, and academics in related fields might glimpse when looking backward. It is also important to begin understanding how future pandemic response plans will emerge, building on the failures of 2020, in order to manage yet unknown global pandemics. One key takeaway for this planning work is to avoid defaulting into the essay’s core theoretical point, a concept I call virological determinism, where societal inequalities amplifying pandemic-related effects are entirely blamed on a virus and not the underlying social conditions caused by government negligence. By reflecting on the productive possibilities created by pandemics, it is also then possible to begin understanding how many more people died during the early years of COVID-19 than ever needed to.

Personal notes on the art of the African diaspora

In this personal essay, I reflect on the how cultural shifts in the British art world establishment, have enabled black artists who came of age in the Eighties, to enjoy late career success. I’m particularly interested in the careers of black women, who have traditionally been more overlooked by their male counterparts. I start with my own desire to connect to my Nigerian/African heritage when I was a young woman, one who had grown up brainwashed by the colonial project, and talk about the changes I have witnessed since the Eighties. I interrogate the value placed on transnational artists with ancestral ties to Africa by the art establishment then and now, and how those artists who are currently exhibiting in major art galleries and museums are often showing work created decades ago. This begs the question, if not then, why now? The article arises from a British Academy Lecture delivered on 9 November 2023.

The Long and Winding Road to Self-Acceptance: An Appreciative Inquiry Personal Essay

This personal essay is a revealing story of resilience, gratitude and the impactful role of Appreciative Inquiry in personal development.

The Death of Debate?

This personal essay outlines the ways in which debate has developed and functioned over time. It focuses upon the performative nature of much of what passes for ‘debate’ in the current Scottish Parliament. It suggests ways in which parliamentary business could be reshaped towards more meaningful and productive exchanges of opinion and evidence.

My Body Under Capitalism

This creative-critical personal essay unpacks the structural mechanisms and invisible biases that allow gendered violence and the whore stigma to flourish. I embody my role as unsympathetic victim-survivor of sexual assault, refusing to conform to societal pressures around virtue and propriety. Resisting the temptation to point the finger at any one perpetrator, I explore the co-option of women’s bodies and my demons with a subversive literary arsenal, using humor, volatility and disruption as weapons. This essay-in-fragments explores consent culture, objectification and the commodification of my body as I engage in transactional sex and sex for pleasure, with an aim to subvert expectations around sex workers, who are often accused of “asking for” rape.

Full Havisham Effect

Abstract: Reflecting on Miss Havisham, one of the most famous ghosts in the marriage plot, this personal essay considers the importance of having space to grieve. While living as a lodger in my colleague’s home after ending my marriage, I dreamed of Miss Havisham’s Satis House: a space of my own where I could decay alongside the scraps, fragments, and stuff that makes a life. But when I moved into my apartment, I identified more with Catherine Dickens who mourned her mistreatment by Charles but moved on all the same. Ultimately, this essay celebrates the love that appears minor in the marriage plot but is major during separation.

Done with Dickens

Abstract: This article brings a creative–critical approach to bear on my long, and evolving, relationship with Dickens. Through examining the tenacious grip that Dickens has had on my imaginative, emotional, and professional lives, I explore the conundrum of continuing to admire a writer whose ubiquity, personal history, and even style can sometimes cause embarrassment to contemporary publics. In the face of such feelings, and my ambivalence about literary hero-worship, I make a case for Dickens’s unique power and lasting relevance. I explore how Dickens has shaped my creative imagination, education, and work as a university lecturer, and how his writing continues to impact on the lives of friends, family, and students. The article takes the form of a creative–critical personal essay, combining autobiographical accounts of growing up in Dickens’s Kent, and of engaging with Great Expectations at different life stages, with the scholarly perspectives that underpin my publications and university teaching.

Breaking the Patriarchal Mold: A Journal on Feminism, Singleness, and Women’s Empowerment in Jakarta

In Indonesia, patriarchal norms and societal expectations significantly constrain women's agency and autonomy, particularly in the context of singleness. However, research on the experiences of single women in Jakarta is notably limited within academic discourse. Breaking the Patriarchal Mold aims to explore the intersections of feminism, singleness, and women's empowerment in Jakarta. The primary objective is to challenge and dismantle patriarchal norms while amplifying the voices of marginalized single women. The journal invites submissions from various theoretical perspectives, including feminist theory, intersectional feminism, queer feminism, and postcolonial feminism. These perspectives will be utilized to examine and contextualize the experiences of single women in Jakarta. Breaking the Patriarchal Mold will feature scholarly articles, personal essays, and creative works that delve into the experiences of single women in Jakarta. It is anticipated that the journal will shed light on the diverse experiences of single women in Jakarta and provide insights into how patriarchal norms and societal expectations impact their lives. The journal's findings will contribute to the broader discourse on feminism, singleness, and women's empowerment in Indonesia. Additionally, it will promote gender equality and social justice in the region. Breaking the Patriarchal Mold will serve as a platform to elevate the voices of single women in Jakarta, challenge prevailing patriarchal structures, and advocate for greater gender equality and social change.

How my Gen Z students learned to start worrying and dismantle the Bomb

ABSTRACT Young Americans are coming of age immersed in daily news and controversy about rising perils like climate change, and emerging ones like artificial intelligence. Generation Z has produced and embraced movements for climate action like the school strikes led by Greta Thunberg that connect to other social justice movements. But the threat posed by nuclear weapons remains a disconnected abstraction to many young people, even as tensions between nuclear-armed states over conflicts like the invasions of Ukraine and Gaza renew fears of a nuclear confrontation that were more common decades ago. In this personal essay, a life-long opponent of nuclear weapons raised during the Cold War reflects on intergenerational lessons about activism, and teaching college students to embrace their curiosity, and their fear, on the way to saving the world.

Book Review: MEN’S LIB and Other Literary, Cultural and Personal Essays by Kumar Vikram

This article reviews MEN’S LIB and Other Literary, Cultural and Personal Essays by Kumar Vikram (2022). The book provides a hope that essay as a genre is here to stay for years to come. Vikram has presented a unique bouquet of his literary, cultural, and personal essays written and published over 15 years from 2004 to 2020. The essays in the book have been categorized as socio-cultural, literary, and personal. The book showcases Vikram’s own evolution as an essayist who creates his narratives based on lived experiences, academic rigour, critic’s mind, and layman’s inquisitiveness. The author provides a fresh perspective on some of the historical, literary, cultural, and political figures as well as imageries and provokes the readers to challenge their worldviews in inimitable style. Essays in the book are likely to trigger discourses and conversations around contemporary social, literary, and personal issues.

The Man with a Million Names: A Personal Essay on Transit Work

This essay is a scholarly personal narrative about transit work, especially the operation of omnibuses, horse cars, trolleys, and trams in New York City in the nineteenth century. The culminating event is the trolley strike of 1895, the longest in New York history, and the theme is the need for solidarity between transit workers and the riding public, and thus for what is now is called union “Bargaining for the Public Good.” In this essay, the author speaks as both a transit worker and an historian.