Life Writing
Herbert Marks
Comparative Literature
Meets with CMLT-C 301
The evolution of the concept of the “self” as it is reflected in a variety of literary modes (memoirs, journals, confessions, autobiographies) from Saint Augustine to Natalia Ginzburg and Patti Smith. Discussions will focus on the tension between competing ideals of the self as either autonomous or determined by (and contributing to) the social group--tribal, national, or familial. Students will have an opportunity to experiment with various voices in their own self-writing, and to participate in short collaborative projects, based on the Japanese renga, which evolves as it circulates from hand to hand among a small circle of acquaintances.
Catalog Information: HON-H 303 INTERDEPARTMENTAL COLLOQUIA