In this course, we will explore a range of autobiographical forms and genres (e.g. autobiography, memoir, diary, journal, letter, blog, and social media) in English literature from their origins to the present. Questions of fact and fiction, form and function, and generic hybridity will play a major role in our endeavor to gain a deeper understanding of how lives, selves, and memories are narrated in autobiographical writing. We will consider contemporary debates in life-writing and discuss the literary and cross-disciplinary impact of this flourishing field.
Participants will be asked to actively engage in the discussion (and selection) of case studies and readings. Theoretical texts and excerpts will be made available for download.
