Topic Brainstorm

Dogs Playing Poker (Wikimedia)

1. Vietnamese Legends: I chose this topic because I am Vietnamese, but I am not very in touch with my culture, so reading some of these legends would be enlightening. I could also discuss some of these legends with my mother, who may have heard these stories growing up in Vietnam. I also hope to learn about different facets of the Vietnamese culture through reading these stories. I'm not sure what kind of stories I would tell with this topic.

2. Bible Stories: I chose this topic because I am a Christian, and although I do not know all of the stories in the Bible, I am familiar with most of the stories, and I hope to have an enlightening experience while rereading some of the stories. I could notice an important part of the story that I hadn't noticed in the past, or research in-depth one of the stories to truly understand what the author was trying to convey. If I were to choose this topic, I would likely tell the story through the perspective of me by relating the story to something real in my life.

3. Dogs: I chose this topic because I like dogs. Dogs are my favorite animals, and I would love to see how they are depicted in different kinds of stories. I would also like to examine the evolution of dogs in stories over time, as in what they are used to represent and how those representations change among cultures and across time. If I chose this story I could also look through images and find cute pictures of dogs to put in my blog. If I were to choose this topic, I would likely tell the story through the perspective of a dog.

4. Food: I chose this topic because food and diet are such important parts of every culture, and each culture varies vastly in its food selection. It would be interesting to see a specific food used in different cultural stories and compare how the meaning of the food changes between cultures. Rice especially would be an interesting food to examine across cultures due to its creative use in a multitude of dishes. If I were to choose this topic, I would likely tell the story with the setting of an international cooking competition.