Uses of Autobiography

Autobiography is commonly understood in terms of giving readers insight into the private lives of unique individuals, but in recent years the autobiographical project has absorbed a surprisingly wide variety of social concerns. The contributors to this book, writing from a variety of subject disciplines and interests, explore a range of the uses of autobiography from the nineteenth-century to the present day, and from Africa, USA, the Middle East, France, New Zealand, as well as Britain. Their accounts demonstrate how a reading of autobiography, together with critical scrutiny of the context in which it is produced, can bring understanding not only of the autobiographer as an individual, but of the social, cultural and political conditions in which we read and write about ourselves. The Chapters draw on a number of approaches, including historical and literary methods. They are frequently about the retrieval and reclamation of previously hidden or misrepresented writings; anthropological and educational strategies, often using personal testimony as a means of questioning assumptions about the status quo; and demonstrations of autobiographical practice in writing workshops and performance art. Contributors highlight ways in which we use and might use autobiography not only to represent and understand individual lives, but also for purposes of establishing communities of interest, and for educational and social change.