Portland State University PDXScholar University Honors Theses University Honors College 2015 Technicalities: a Memoir Shelley Smith Portland State University Follow this and additional works at: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/honorstheses Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Smith, Shelley, "Technicalities: a Memoir" (2015). University Honors Theses. Paper 163. https://doi.org/10.15760/honors.165 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in University Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. Please contact us if we can make this document more accessible:
[email protected]. Technicalities A Memoir by Shelley Smith An undergraduate honors thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in University Honors and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies Thesis Adviser Vicki Reitenauer Portland State University 2015 Artist Statement Using creative non-fiction memoir, this piece explores the social location of the author throughout her life. By examining memory, writing from different tenses and providing creative observations and commentary on experience, the author is able to offer perspective on various aspects of privilege, oppression and the intersections therein. This memoir addresses her human development as impacted by social systems and constructs such as, public educational institutions, church, sexism, classism, and white supremacy. The creative style also attempts to validate and legitimize personal experience as research in a deconstructed, approachable manner to increase public interest and awareness of personal social location. Purpose : Often there is a disconnection of quantitative data from qualitative experience in sociological research.