Reading autobiography : a guide for interpreting life narratives / Sidonie Smith and Julia Watson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Smith, Sidonie.

Contributor:

Watson, Julia, 1945-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Autobiography.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (314 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Minneapolis : University of Minnesota Press, c2001.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Sidonie Smith and Julia Watson offer a concise yet far-reaching overview of key terms, issues, histories, and texts in life narrative studies. Reading Autobiography is a step-by-step introduction to the differences of self-narrative from fiction and biography; the components of autobiographical acts; such core concepts as memory, experience, identity, agency, and the body; the textual and critical history of the field; and prospects for future research. Organized as a user-friendly handbook, it includes a glossary of key words, suggestions for teaching, and extensive primary and secondary bibl

Contents:

Contents; Preface; Acknowledgments; 1. Life Narrative: Definitions and Distinctions; 2. Autobiographical Subjects; 3. Autobiographical Acts; 4. Life Narrative in Historical Perspective; 5. A History of Autobiography Criticism, Part 1: Defining the Genre; 6. A History of Autobiography Criticism, Part 2: Contemporary Theorizing; 7. A Tool Kit: Twenty Strategies for Reading Life Narratives; Appendixes; Notes; Bibliography; Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 227-267) and index.

ISBN:

0-8166-8778-1

OCLC:

171126648