Doing History: Biography as History

Although historians often focus on broad social forces, individuals can and do shape these currents in unexpected ways, as the headlines of our own time illustrate. What role do individuals play in historical change? How can we use individual life stories to illuminate broader trends? Led by two history faculty members who are also biographers, this seminar will introduce students to a diverse cast including writers, musicians, politicians, and intellectuals, with a general focus on the modern era since 1870. As a final project, students will draw on Stanford's archival holdings to write an original mini-biography.