Feminist Life-Writing

This course explores life-writing as a form of feminist praxis. Feminist life-writing is an art form grounded in truth-telling, activism, and self-making that emerges from the long tradition of women writing private lives. Beginning with the politicized practices of second wave feminists up through contemporary trends in memoir and autofiction, we will confront an array of intersectional autobiographies that connect personal experience to broader movements, power structures, and oppressions. How has life-writing contributed to the articulation of feminist consciousness? How has feminism impacted the methods marginalized authors use to create forms for belonging and self-determination? As we think about the politics of life-writing, we will also consider feminist rhetorical and aesthetic strategies for confronting issues like trauma, disability, incarceration, motherhood, and friendship. Each student will conduct a large-scale research project focused on an author, genre, or theme of their choice. As we research the critical historical contexts for feminist memoir, we will simultaneously conduct our own creative experiments in life-writing.