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Module ContentÌý

This module will introduce students to theories and texts of life writing, autofiction and fictional autobiography from a variety of contexts. The politics of early autobiography will be examined with reference to Juan Francisco Manzano’s The Life and Poems of a Cuban Slave; we will discuss Helene Cixous’ ‘écriture féminine’ and Clarice Lispector’s The Passion according to G.H. which inspired it; Barthes’ ‘The Death of the Author’ will be used to think through issues surrounding the work of the pseudonymical Elena Ferrante; texts and theories of ‘autofiction’ by Serge Doubrovsky and Marguerite Duras will be compared to subsequent trends in fictional autobiography including Diary of the Fall by Michel Laub as a means to engage with Jean-Luc Nancy’s notion of writing as a ‘singular voice’. You will have the opportunity to practice some of your own creative Life Writing as part of the module’s assessment.Ìý

Teaching DeliveryÌý

There will be a two-hour weekly class, comprising elements of teacher-led class lecture with elements of seminar-style discussion based upon the set readings. Classes will give background and content and analysis of the texts in question, as well as involving student interaction, presentation, debate and discussion. The module will have a dedicated Moodle site with reading lists linked to the UCL library website and beyond.Ìý

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

1. Recognise and describe different forms of life writing.

2. Analyse theoretical and cultural texts associated with autobiography, autofiction, fictional autobiography and other forms of life writing.

3. Formulate and communicate justified arguments with reference to theoretical and cultural texts in class and in research essays.

4. Undertake, evaluate and discuss their own life writing in class and as part of a written assessment.

Recommended Reading

Eakin, Paul John. Fictions in Autobiography Studies in the Art of Self-Invention. Princeton University Press (2014)

Laub, Michel. Diary of the Fall. Trans. Margaret Jull Costa ([2011]2014)

Lejeune, Philippe. ‘The Autobiographical Pact’ in On Autobiography. Trans. by Katherine Leary. University of Minnesota Press (1989)