Autobiographical Writing Across the Disciplines
A Reader
Published on 23. January 2004
Book
Paperback/Softback
512 pages
978-0-8223-3213-8 (ISBN)
Description
Autobiographical Writing Across the Disciplines reveals the extraordinary breadth of the intellectual movement toward self-inclusive scholarship. Presenting exemplary works of criticism incorporating personal narratives, this volume brings together twenty-seven essays from scholars in literary studies and history, mathematics and medicine, philosophy, music, film, ethnic studies, law, education, anthropology, religion, and biology. Pioneers in the development of the hybrid genre of personal scholarship, the writers whose work is presented here challenge traditional modes of inquiry and ways of knowing. In assembling their work, editors Diane P. Freedman and Olivia Frey have provided a rich source of reasons for and models of autobiographical criticism.The editors' introduction presents a condensed history of academic writing, chronicles the origins of autobiographical criticism, and emphasizes the role of feminism in championing the value of personal narrative to disciplinary discourse. The essays are all explicitly informed by the identities of their authors, among whom are a feminist scientist, a Jewish filmmaker living in Germany, a potential carrier of Huntington's disease, and a doctor pregnant while in medical school. Whether describing how being a professor of ethnic literature necessarily entails being an activist, how music and cooking are related, or how a theology is shaped by cultural identity, the contributors illuminate the relationship between their scholarly pursuits and personal lives and, in the process, expand the boundaries of their disciplines.
Contributors:
Kwame Anthony Appiah
Ruth Behar
Merrill Black
David Bleich
James Cone
Brenda Daly
Laura B. DeLind
Carlos L. Dews
Michael Dorris
Diane P. Freedman
Olivia Frey
Peter Hamlin
Laura Duhan Kaplan
Perri Klass
Muriel Lederman
Deborah Lefkowitz
Eunice Lipton
Robert D. Marcus
Donald Murray
Seymour Papert
Carla T. Peterson
David Richman
Sara Ruddick
Julie Tharp
Bonnie TuSmith
Alex Wexler
Naomi Weisstein
Patricia Williams
Contributors:
Kwame Anthony Appiah
Ruth Behar
Merrill Black
David Bleich
James Cone
Brenda Daly
Laura B. DeLind
Carlos L. Dews
Michael Dorris
Diane P. Freedman
Olivia Frey
Peter Hamlin
Laura Duhan Kaplan
Perri Klass
Muriel Lederman
Deborah Lefkowitz
Eunice Lipton
Robert D. Marcus
Donald Murray
Seymour Papert
Carla T. Peterson
David Richman
Sara Ruddick
Julie Tharp
Bonnie TuSmith
Alex Wexler
Naomi Weisstein
Patricia Williams
Reviews / Votes
"This anthology of autobiographical writing by scholars with a range of ties to the academy, this mosaic of brave, graceful, and compassionate voices, skillfully edited by Diane P. Freedman and Olivia Frey, bears testimony to the strength of an intellectual movement that is changing the way scholarship is being done. . . . [T]his book asserts the importance of a common project, a shared commitment to a way of knowing as well as a way of telling."-Ruth Behar, from the foreword "This collection brings a new kind of scholarship into focus: research that has a human face and speaks with a human voice. In these essays, knowledge comes alive for the reader because it has sprung from the lived experience of the investigator. The contributors are pioneers in their fields, blazing trails for future work in their disciplines."-Jane Tompkins, author of A Life in School: What the Teacher LearnedMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
North Carolina
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
7 b&w photos
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 155 mm
Thickness: 28 mm
Weight
1633 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8223-3213-8 (9780822332138)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
01/2004
1st Edition
De Gruyter
€238.99
Available for download
Persons
Diane P. Freedman is Associate Professor of English at the University of New Hampshire. She is the author of An Alchemy of Genres: Cross-Genre Writing by American Feminist Poet-Critics, editor of Millay at 100: A Critical Reappraisal, and coeditor of The Teacher's Body: Embodiment, Authority, and Identity in the Academy.
Olivia Frey, retired from her position as Professor of English at St. Olaf College, is now the lead administrator at the Village School in Northfield, Minnesota. Freedman and Frey are the coeditors (with Frances Murphy Zauhar) of The Intimate Critique: Autobiographical Literary Criticism, published by Duke University Press.
Olivia Frey, retired from her position as Professor of English at St. Olaf College, is now the lead administrator at the Village School in Northfield, Minnesota. Freedman and Frey are the coeditors (with Frances Murphy Zauhar) of The Intimate Critique: Autobiographical Literary Criticism, published by Duke University Press.
Content
Acknowledgments ix
Foreword / Ruth Behar xiii
Self/Discipline: An Introduction / Diane P. Freedman and Olivia Frey 1
Language and Literature
Finding the Right Word: Self-Inclusion and Self-Inscription / David Bleich 41
Gender Tragedies: East Texas Cockfighting and Hamlet / Carlos L. Dews 68
Three Readings of the Wife of Bath / Merrill Black 85
Listening to the Images: My Sightless Insights into Yeats's Plays / David Richman 96
Activist Academic: Memoir of an Ethnic Lit Professor / Bonnie Tusmith 114
Following the Voice of the Draft / Donald M. Murray 129
Notes of a Native Daughter: Reflections on Identity and Writing / Carla L. Peterson 138
History
Tribute to Robert D. Marcus / David Bleich 159
Journey/man: Hi/s/tory / Robert D. Marcus 161
Religion
From God of the Oppressed / James Cone 189
Philosophy
Beyond Holocaust Theology: Extending a Hand across the Abyss / Laura Duhan Kaplan 205
Maternal Thinking / Sara Ruddick 216
Africana Studies
Altered States / Kwame Anthony Appiah 233
Art History
History of an Encounter / Eunice Lipton 257
Music
Devouring Music: Ruminations of a Composer Who Cooks / Peter Hamlin 265
Film
When the Body Is Your Own: Feminist Film Criticism and the Horror Genre / Julie Tharp 281
Filming Point of View / Deborah Lefkowitz 292
Anthropology
From The Broken Cord / Michael Dorris 311
Juban America / Ruth Behar 331
Close Encounters with a CSA: The Reflections of a Bruised and Somewhat Wiser Anthropologist / Laura B. Delind 349
Law
The Death of the Profane (a commentary on the genre of legal writing) / Patricia J. Williams 365
English Education
My Father/ My Censor: English Education, Politics, and Status / Brenda Daly 375
Research Psychology
Adventures of a Woman in Science / Naomi Weisstein 397
Biology
Through the Looking Glass: A Feminist's Life in Biology / Muriel Lederman 417
Medicine
That Disorder: An Introduction / Alice Wexler 435
A Textbook Pregnancy / Perri Klass 444
Math, Psychology, and Science Education
Personal Thinking / Seymour Papert 455
Selected Bibliography 467
Contributors 483
Foreword / Ruth Behar xiii
Self/Discipline: An Introduction / Diane P. Freedman and Olivia Frey 1
Language and Literature
Finding the Right Word: Self-Inclusion and Self-Inscription / David Bleich 41
Gender Tragedies: East Texas Cockfighting and Hamlet / Carlos L. Dews 68
Three Readings of the Wife of Bath / Merrill Black 85
Listening to the Images: My Sightless Insights into Yeats's Plays / David Richman 96
Activist Academic: Memoir of an Ethnic Lit Professor / Bonnie Tusmith 114
Following the Voice of the Draft / Donald M. Murray 129
Notes of a Native Daughter: Reflections on Identity and Writing / Carla L. Peterson 138
History
Tribute to Robert D. Marcus / David Bleich 159
Journey/man: Hi/s/tory / Robert D. Marcus 161
Religion
From God of the Oppressed / James Cone 189
Philosophy
Beyond Holocaust Theology: Extending a Hand across the Abyss / Laura Duhan Kaplan 205
Maternal Thinking / Sara Ruddick 216
Africana Studies
Altered States / Kwame Anthony Appiah 233
Art History
History of an Encounter / Eunice Lipton 257
Music
Devouring Music: Ruminations of a Composer Who Cooks / Peter Hamlin 265
Film
When the Body Is Your Own: Feminist Film Criticism and the Horror Genre / Julie Tharp 281
Filming Point of View / Deborah Lefkowitz 292
Anthropology
From The Broken Cord / Michael Dorris 311
Juban America / Ruth Behar 331
Close Encounters with a CSA: The Reflections of a Bruised and Somewhat Wiser Anthropologist / Laura B. Delind 349
Law
The Death of the Profane (a commentary on the genre of legal writing) / Patricia J. Williams 365
English Education
My Father/ My Censor: English Education, Politics, and Status / Brenda Daly 375
Research Psychology
Adventures of a Woman in Science / Naomi Weisstein 397
Biology
Through the Looking Glass: A Feminist's Life in Biology / Muriel Lederman 417
Medicine
That Disorder: An Introduction / Alice Wexler 435
A Textbook Pregnancy / Perri Klass 444
Math, Psychology, and Science Education
Personal Thinking / Seymour Papert 455
Selected Bibliography 467
Contributors 483