Article
Reading, Writing, and Performing Life Histories to Explore Complex Interactions between Life and Texts
Language Arts
(2020)
Abstract
Anthropologists Cole and Knowles (2001) have posited that life history research can help us to better understand the human condition by examining the experiences of individuals. Neither autobiography nor biography, life history research places individual narratives within the broader cultural, political, familial, educational, and religious contexts. Linde (1993) explains that a life history includes certain kinds of landmark events that present a person as a member of a particular culture in intercourse with other members of that culture. Life histories help readers understand the nuances of characters, bringing them to life in ways that are interesting, meaningful, and accessible. Also relevant to the interpretive process is how students chose to reflect on the events of the day. They liked performing and viewing the performances, and their enthusiasm supports the idea that performing literary life histories fosters engagement. Awed by a real presence on a proscenium stage, students wore the cloak of their character and read their scripts with authority and emotion.
Disciplines
Publication Date
March, 2020
Citation Information
Susan Browne and Marjorie Madden. "Reading, Writing, and Performing Life Histories to Explore Complex Interactions between Life and Texts" Language Arts Vol. 97 Iss. 4 (2020) p. 252 - 258 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/susan-browne/6/