2a+Everyday+Use+by+Alice+Walker

"Everyday Use" is a short story written by Alice Walker. We will be reading this with a focus on "cultural identity" (heritage.)

[|Alice Walker's homepage with biography and other information]

Start thinking about your cultural identity. What family treasures do or did you have? What traditional foods do or did you eat? What customs do or did you have? What language do or did you or your family speak?

Did you ever wonder if you were related to a President, First Lady, King, or Queen? Wouldn't it be cool to trace your lineage back in history from you to your parents to your grandparents to your great-grandparents and so on? Your line of descent traced from your ancestors is known as your genealogy. Often people say they're studying their "family tree." Read this article and find out why people are so fascinated with their backgrounds. Who knows, maybe you'll develop a new hobby!

[|NBC tv show which traces celebrities' lineage: "Who Do You Think You Are"]

Something more to think about: Here's a sociological study about how cultural identity fits into our definition of our "self." I like the web (on page two.) [|Sociological look at how cultural identity contributes to definition of self]

Not exactly related, but interesting: Rebecca Walker is Alice Walker's daughter. Rebecca wrote a fascinating autobiography about growing up in biracial, divorced households. The book is called: __Black, White, and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self.__ Here is a link to Rebecca's website. [|Rebecca Walker's website]