| MTSU professor, son explore family project |
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By: TMP - July 15, 2008 - 1:45 PM
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Posted: Tuesday, July 15, 2008 1:45 pm
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Have you ever looked at your child and seen yourself at that age? Or caught a glimpse of your reflection only to see your mother looking back at you?
At the same time, have you ever opened your mouth to say something to your child and heard your father's voice and words coming from your mouth? It’s eerie in a comforting sort of way.
MTSU associate professor Catherine Stogner, and her son, Nephi Stogner, a free-lance photographer in Europe, would like to meet people interested in sharing their faces and families for a project about the ties that bind generations together.
“The physical features and the behaviors and attitudes we share with family are things that make us feel connected from one generation to another,” Catherine Stogner said. “These similarities give us a sense of belonging. We know where we fit in the world.”
In the study of human development, there has been a time-honored debate over nature versus nurture. And while the debate will continue, the bottom line is that people are products of both. The color of eyes or the shape of noses comes directly from the biological family.
“And some of who we are - our values about family and religion and right and wrong - is influenced by our family,” Stogner said.
This study of the physical and social sharing of family traits has long been an interest of Stogner’s.
“I am a clone of my maternal grandmother as my daughter is of me,” Stogner said. “Our oldest son is his father from the shape of his nose to his quirky sense of humor. With five children and a PhD in family studies, I found myself in a unique position to study the family ties that bind one generation to another. But what I lacked was the ability for visual expression.”
She did not have to look very far. Home for a few months from his life as a free-lance photographer in Europe, one of her sons, Nephi became her artistic partner.
“With his love of family and his incredible gift for capturing faces, he brings to the study the visual,” Stogner said. “If you recognized yourself and parents and children as you read this article, and if you and yours would be willing to spend some time and family photographs with us, please let us know.”
Catherine Stogner will write the stories and Nephi will capture the visual features that you and yours share.
For more information, call Catherine D. Stogner at 631-1271 or Nephi N. Stogner at 631-5034.
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