For the Gelareh Asayesh essay:
1. Asayesh describes the veil she wears to the
wake of a family friend as “this curtain of cloth that gives with one
hand, takes away with the other.” How would you sum up the things she feels
wearing hijab “takes away” from her (and/or women in general), and the things
it “gives” her (and/or women in general)? Does each side of this divide seem
equally compelling or powerful, given her essay?
2. Discuss whether the ambivalence Asayesh expresses
toward wearing hijab is something you related to while reading this essay, and (if so) which
aspect(s) of your life made it relatable for you.
For the Barack Obama essay:
1. What surprised you the most about this essay?
2. Obama says “everywhere I go across the country, and around
the world, I see people pushing back against dated assumptions about gender
roles.” This essay was published about sixteen months ago. Do you think that generalization
is more or less true than it was then? How? Or is it both more true and less
true? How?
For both essays:
3. Can you imagine writing an essay for publication sometime in
the future? The two essays you chose from today are from Vogue and The
New York Times, respectively. Can you envision a context where you might
publish a personal essay in a similar publication? If not, is there any context
where you see yourself writing an essay that an audience larger than a
classroom would read? Why and/or why not? Discuss.
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