Draw the scene (using software or by hand), take an original photo(s) depicting the scene, or record a video depicting the scene.

Over the last two class sessions, we have read and begun analyzing Marquez’s “I Only Came to Use the Phone.” A few themes (not exhaustive):
• Agency/Structure
• Dehumanization, Militarization & Institutionalization
• Power
Key Questions:
• What is the significance of the phone?
• What is the significance of the cat?
• Who is the narrator?
There’s a lot in this story, and we’ll all resonate with different things. As I said, I have read this many times and, each time, discover something new. This is a piece we will continue to come back to this semester as we move more into feminist theory.

1. Read the first two pages of “Theory as Liberatory Practice” by bell hooks. In this piece I mentioned in class, hooks explain why she came to theory, and what she hoped to learn and experience from it. Reflect on why you have come to feminist theory.
2. Identify a scene or scenes from pp. 78-end that you find most interesting, intriguing, captivating, even confusing. This time, though, we are going to center Maria’s perspective and experience, if as though we are assuming she actually is the narrator. That is, which scene(s) do you want to focus on from Maria’s perspective. For example, you could easily focus on a scene with Saturno feeding the cat even though Maria is not physically there. Lean into your creative expression, but the big idea here is agency v. structure. Imagine the scene. This step is important. Allow your brain to vividly illustrate the scene.
3. Draw the scene (using software or by hand), take an original photo(s) depicting the scene, or record a video depicting the scene. Get creative.
4. Write a 2-3 page response paper that explains your scene as you envision it from Maria’s perspective (what do you imagine Maria would think, feel, experience, interpret etc.) and why you imagine Maria, let’s say, would come to theory. That is, in this latter part, I want you to connect what you know and have illustrated about Maria to hooks: what might Maria learn or experience from theory? What might she want to understand or make sense of? What kind of liberation might Maria be seeking?