Autobiographies

Socrates famously said that the unexamined life is not worth living. In this course, we’ll look at various “examined” lives and ask ourselves how writers remember and record them. We’ll also consider why it is that writers wish to record their pasts. In pursuing answers to these questions, we’ll try our own hands at writing short works of autobiography. Other types of writing will include analytical essays and informal responses (one or two a week). Authors we’ll read include Henry Thoreau, Frank O’Connor, Lucy Grealy, Adrienne Rich, George Orwell, and Richard Rodriguez. Our textbook will be The Art of the Personal Essay by Phillip Lopate. I look forward to exploring and enjoying the wonderful genre of autobiography with you!

Photo credit: http://eyesofodysseus.wordpress.com/2012/05/29/mirrors-in-oil-self-portraits-by-the-great-masters-part-1/