I assigned an imaginary memoir in my survey of Islamic history and am, once again, amazed by the creativity of my students. In lieu of a more traditional written assignment, students can write a fictional memoir of a historical figure or imagined character. Here's what I do. 1/8

In this particular course, students create a story of someone living anywhere between Morocco and SE Asia, anytime between c. 600 and 1914. Any format, but most prefer a diary entry or entries. Any chronological span of the memoir: could be one day, could be decades. 2/8

Students can also "rewrite" primary sources that we have read from someone else's perspective, and so far students opted for marginalized and overlooked identities (LGBTQ+, women, nomads, peasants, refugees). 3/8

This year's characters include a 7th-century mawla, an archer in Chinggis Khan's army, a Damascene 'alim, a Jewish Iberian refugee, Hürrem Sultan, a Sokollu/Sokolović notable, sex workers in early modern Istanbul (inspired by Zarinebaf's work), a Julfan Armenian merchant. 4/8

Students are free to experiment with literary genres, forms of expression, and media. In the past, students incorporated original poems (ghazal), artwork, and music. One student included a song about Ibn Battuta that he performed with his band. 5/8

I ask students to ground their memoir in an appropriate historical context, including references to historical events and personalities, and to create character backstories (and the reason for memoir production) that seem plausible for the age. 6/8

My students writing imaginary memoirs tend to be highly motivated, conduct impressive external research, and draw on deep social themes. Many students who are shy in discussions shine in these memoirs. 7/8

This is the third time I am doing this assignment in different courses and institutions: @Stanford (with/for @ayayciog), @Columbia, and @FurmanU. The inspiration behind the assignment is Edith Sheffer's pedagogy: https://www.historians.org/publications-and-directories/perspectives-on-history/october-2013/creating-lives-fictional-characters-in-the-history-classroom and https://www.chronicle.com/article/teaching-matters-creating/49211 8/8