CTZN 410 – HON Seeing the Past, Prof. Grabiec

For my Symposium course, I took “Seeing the Past” with Professor Grabiec. In this course, we were paired with a storyteller from Prince Edward County and asked to capture images for a two-page magazine spread that was developed in collaboration with a writer from another CTZN 410 section. This course allowed me to learn more about the history of the Prince Edward County school closings, reframing them as was often said in class, as an “American,” rather than just an “African American” story. 

Besides prompting deep reflection on the nature of civic activism and equity in the U.S, this class also allowed me to practice learning new skills (like photography) and the iterative process. Legal writing, like most formal writing, is a process that involves multiple rounds of drafting and editing, often in collaboration with a team. Thus, the critique process of this course allowed me to strengthen skills that will likely be critical for my future professional success. 

Here, I’ve included a picture I took of my writer during an in-class portraiture workshop.