Biografie Bulletin. Jaargang 21

[p. 109]

Mededeling

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Ulrike Brunotte and Maaike Meijer are organizing a

Research Conference

March 29th and 30th, 2011

Is Life Itself ‘(auto)Biographical’? Biography, Autobiography, and the Reality of Fiction

‘Stories happen to people who know how to tell them’ (Henry James)

This research day aims at continuing the work that was done at the ‘Points of Exit’ conference in March 2009. There, we investigated the ways in which biographical conventions work, and the possibilities of deviating from these conventions. At which point does a life story break away from the predictable modes that are culturally available? Can we ever escape such modes? Should we wish to do so? Where do we find ‘other’ scripts, or how can we develop these? Are these ‘new’ scripts fully understandable in terms of the life stories we usually tell?

The aim to locate the ‘points of exit’ away from cultural conventions and scripts, is still with us. In this conference we will continue to explore ways out of the biographical mould (Tuesday-evening). However, on Wednesday our focus will shift to the autobiographical mode, guided by the central question: What can autobiography actually do? Which personal, social and political effects does the autobiographical performance intend and what does this entail? If autobiography is an act, what are its consequences for the individual and for the world?

Autobiography is not a representation of life, but a construction. Indeed, can life be captured in the autobiographical mode? What is it that we do when we construct ourselves autobiographically? How does life imitate art? What is the relation between the construction of one's life and the role of memory in the process of life writing? Is memory activated, changed, distorted or even suffocated by certain life writing practices? Is it still possible to write one's autobiography differently, once it has been written or conceived? Can people change? Is there still a ‘life’ after narration? How powerful are autobiographical representations? Can autobiographical writings have an effect on the world?

Speakers are: Ulrike Brunotte, Rosemarie Buikema, Paul John Eakin, Macarena Garcia Gonzalez, Louis van den Hengel, Margaretta Jolly, Wiel Kusters, Maaike Meijer, Jan de Roder, Monica Soeting, Hans-Ulrich Treichel, Renée van de Vall, Lies Wesseling.

For information and registration please contact Wilma Lieben: [e-mail]