Life Writing - Period 5

Life writing is a rather new, interdisciplinary field covering a broad spectrum of writing categories such as (auto)biography, memoir, diary, travel writing, graphic novels, letter writing, poetry and blogs. In this introductory course we will examine the various debates that life writing scholars have been engaged in since its beginning ca. two decades ago. The course will be structured around seven such disputes: Is life writing an art, a science or an ideology? Who deserves a life and who is eligible to tell it? How factual/fictional is life writing and (why) does that matter? How to deal with myths, taboos and secrets? Does life writing include the lives of nonhumans and objects? How to bear testimony to (the planet?s) future? Contextualizing the subject: nationality vs. transnationality.

Contact hours listed under a course description may vary due to the combination of lecture-based and independent work required for each course therefore, CEA's recommended credits are based on the ECTS credits assigned by VU Amsterdam. 1 ECTS equals 28 contact hours assigned by VU Amsterdam.