The Idea of an Essay, Volume 2

63 “ A Separation Builds a Connection” by Rebecca Mangan Instructor’s Notes In her research paper, Rebecca explores how cultural differences, although they initially appear to separate us, can actually be the starting points for building bridges. How might an author’s presuppositions unfairly influence his or her conclusions when dealing with a foreign culture? How might one’s own biases be identified, negotiated, and diminished? Why is this important? Is it possible for an outsider to a cultural group to speak about that group with authority? How might a writer/researcher create ethos to help establish authority? Writer’s Biography Rebecca Mangan is a junior Nursing major who is passionate about diversity and views writing as a crucial tool in dissolving differences. In 2008, she traveled as a reporter with Y-Press to the Republican National Convention. Last year she won a national essay contest for Abercrombie and Fitch’s diversity and inclusion campaign. During middle school and high school, Mangan published in her state newspaper, the Indianapolis Star, and spoke on NPR wfyi radio in Indianapolis. She searches for opportunities to glorify God with the gifts He has given and to serve others through them. A Separation Builds a Connection A Separation , an Iranian courtroom drama, opens with main characters Nader and Simin requesting a divorce before a judge. It appears their marriage has suffered for some time now as theywearily restate their reasons for separation. Simin is determined to leave Iran with Termeh, their 11-year-old daughter while Nader, loyal to his elderly father, refuses to leave. The judge prods—what is wrong with raising their daughter in Iran? Simin’s answer is ambiguous, only replying that she doesn’t want to raise Termeh under “these