Writing Autobiography (ENG3WAB)
Semester 2 / 2012

Texts

y separately published work icon My Place Sally Morgan , Fremantle : Fremantle Press , 1987 Z384564 1987 single work autobiography (taught in 30 units)

'In 1982, Sally Morgan travelled back to her grandmother's birthplace. What started as a tentative search for information about her family, turned into an overwhelming emotional and spiritual pilgrimage. My Place is a moving account of a search for truth into which a whole family is gradually drawn, finally freeing the tongues of the author's mother and grandmother, allowing them to tell their own stories.' Source: Publisher's blurb.

Dreams From My Father!$!Obama, B!$! !$!Three Rivers Press!$!
Memories Of A Catholic Girlhood!$!Mccarthy M!$!!$!!$!
Modern American Memoirs!$!Dillard A Colnley!$!!$!!$!

Description

We all carry around in our heads a story-of-self which we continually consult in order to know who we are, where we’ve been, and where we want to go. That story-of-self is a web comprised of many, many narrative strands. As we move through life we continually revise the story-of-self in the light of new happenings, new insights into our selves. To the have the story-of-self in one’s head is to possess what we call the autobiographical consciousness. Virtually every human being possesses this form of consciousness. People who write autobiography transfer parts of the story-of-self to the page. In order to do this, they have to exercise narrative craft: the story-in-the-head is so intricate that only parts of it can be included in the autobiography, and the written version must make the story compelling for a reader. The narrative craft required to do this well is demanding and only comes with real dedication to writing. But the good news is that because you already possess...

Assessment

Narrative assignment 1: 1000 words - 30%; Narrative assignment 2: 2000 words - 40%; Workshop presentation and participation: 1000 words - 30%.

Other Details

Offered in: 2011, 2010, 2009
Current Campus: Bundoora
Levels: Undergraduate
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