Autobiography in Francophone and Anglophone Worlds

Designed for juniors/seniors. Focus on number of narratives that use autobiographical mode to situate self in relation to history of nations and biography of family members. Introduction to theories of subjectivity and to genre of self-writing in France, Africa, and Caribbean. Comparison of serial autobiographies of Assia Djebar, Annie Ernaux, and Jamaica Kincaid to better understand limits of genre. Texts represent different limit cases of autobiography and can be read as biography, auto/ethnography, and auto/historiography. Examination of differences that emerge between autobiographical pact (Lejeune) that some authors create with their readers and liberties that others take with history. Attention to way visual culture (painting, photography, film) helps authors make their point, access memory, or create metaphors of self.

P/NP or letter grading.