In “What is History?,” you learned about lenses.

Your assignment for today is to make your first post to the class blog (instructions are in the course’s tiny Blackboard site).

In this post, you will consider your own lens(es). Your larger goal is to answer the question, “Through what filters do you see the world?” There are many ways to answer this question, but along the way you might (or might not) consider the following:

• Where did you grow up, and how did that place, as well as the people around you, influence you?
• What kinds of books or other texts did you read in school? On your own?
• Where (e.g., specific website, television news channels, friends and family, church, etc.) do you learn about what’s going on in the U.S. and the rest of the world?
• How do you spend your leisure time, and how might it shape your view of the world?
• How has your religious or spiritual journey influenced how you view other people and their decisions?
• Did your parents or guardians come from different cultures? If so, how did these cultures appear in your home when you were growing up?
• How has your perspective on the world changed as you have matured and gained more life experience?
• What specific experiences—e.g., events, conversations, chance meetings, courses, etc.—have made you shift your perspective or change your mind about something?
• Are there people or experiences that you consider formative in your life—that is, they are or were essential to shaping the person you are today? Explain.

Please don’t feel pressured to reveal too much personal information. You’re welcome to speak as frankly or as guardedly as you wish, as long as you’re answering the question in a meaningful way.

Post length: 300-600 words

Very important: Remember to check the appropriate category boxes under “Groups” and “Student Contributions” in the right-hand column when you’re writing your post. In this case, that would be your group number and the category “01.1 Your Lens.” Here’s an example; you can see I’ve checked the box as if I’m in Group 4, and I’ve checked the assignment name as well:

Once you have published your post, please comment on your group members’ posts. Assuming your group members have categorized their posts correctly, you can find your group members’ posts by selecting the drop-down menu under “Groups” in the right-hand column.