Humanities and Social Sciences

English Program

Unit for Studies in Biography and Autobiography

History of the Unit for Studies in Biography and Autobiography

The La Trobe University English Program offers the most extensive specialised program for studies in biography and autobiography in Australia. Many of the staff of the English Program conduct research in this area, and a number of important scholarly works in biography and autobiography by staff are in process or in print. The Program has been offering a wide range of subjects in autobiography for some time; in 1997 it launched the first of several planned subjects in biography.

The Unit for Studies in Biography and Autobiography was established in September 1996 in order to focus and extend the English Program's activities in this area, and to forge links with the general community where there is widespread interest in biography and autobiography. The Unit is located in the English Program, but it also functions as a centre for interdisciplinary research within the Faculty of Humanities and Social Science and the university more generally.

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Biography and Autobiography as a field of study

Life writing is now one of the most dynamic and rapidly developing fields of international scholarship. It includes not just biography and autobiography, but also diaries, journals, letters, and the use of life narrative in various disciplines: history, anthropology, sociology, politics, business and leadership studies, sport, and others. Life writing addresses and gives voice to many social constituencies including women, indigenous groups, postcolonial societies, and ethnic groups. It gives voice to those who suffer illness, oppression, misfortune, tragedy; but also to those who wish to speak in a spirit of affirmation, inquiry, amazement, even celebration. In addition to its high academic profile, life writing generates great interest among the general public: works of biography and autobiography sell in vast numbers; many who have worked in large organisations or who follow politics are interested in literature by or about leaders; many aficionados of sport read books by or about sporting figures; there is a wide readership for books that deal with life in various cultures and cultural groups; an increasing number of people are interested in writing family histories or their own autobiographies. The Unit for Studies in Biography and Autobiography aims to reflect and to facilitate such interests and to make the La Trobe School of English a nationally and internationally recognised centre of excellence for integrated activities in the field.

For those with a philosophical bent, studies in biography and autobiography tap into some of the most profound and interesting intellectual issues. For instance: Are we the products of 'nature', 'nurture' or a combination of both? When we come to write the story of a life - be it our own or someone else's - what kinds of plot structures does our culture provide for telling the 'truest' story we can? When do we need to 'invent' our own plot structures, and to what extent is this possible? How 'true' can stories about people be, and how do we know whether they are true or not? Is it possible to be objective about one's own self, or about another human being? What are limits of confidentiality when putting a life on public record? How, and in what ways, does the experience of having a 'self', of being a person, differ from one culture to another? Of course, such questions, and others like them, reach into central issues of recent literary and cultural theory - issues pertaining to subjectivity, the social construction of the self, agency, identity, the structures of the psyche, and so on. Through its various activities the Unit aims to air such topics both for academic and 'general' audiences.

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Structure of the Unit for Studies in Biography and Autobiography

The Unit is managed by a Management Committee which is chaired by the Director. The Committee comprises the English Program coordinator, two other staff members of the School, and two members from elsewhere in the Faculty (at present one from the School of European Studies and the other from the School of Politics ). The current Director is Professor Richard Freadman who also founded the Unit.

The Unit also has Corresponding Members from within Australia and from overseas. These eminent scholars perform a variety of roles for the Unit. They provide editorial advice on publications, keep us abreast of developments in the field in their parts of the world, participate in collaborative grant applications, and appear at seminars and conferences. At present the Unit has Corresponding Members in Indiana (Professor John Eakin ), New York (Professor Laurence Lockridge ), Michigan (Professor Sidonie Smith), Lancaster (Professor Terry Keefe), Essex (Dr Margaretta Jolly), Kent (Professor David Ellis), Warwick (Professor Carolyn Steedman ), Paris (Professor Philippe Lejeune ), Barcelona (Professor Susan Ballyn ), Jamaica (Dr Swithin Wilmot), Jakarta (Ms Reni Winata ), Melbourne (Professor Chris Wallace- Crabbe , Dr David McCooey , Dr Gary Kinnane ) and Canberra (Professor Bruce Bennett). We have contact with similar centres and units abroad with a view to establishing links that will facilitate staff and postgraduate exchanges, cross-cultural research, and other activities. The Unit has a formal agreement with the Center for Biographical Research at the University of Hawaii and is a member of the International Auto/Biography Association.

Events and Activities
Range of Activities

The Unit has eight main spheres of activity:

• Coordination of academic teaching in biography and autobiography within the School;
• Supervision of postgraduate research in biography, autobiography and related areas;
• Generation and coordination of local, national and international research initiatives;
• Hosting visitors from Australia and abroad;
• Running courses/seminars for the general public;
• Organisation of academic seminars and conferences;
• Publications: journal articles and issues, book-length volumes on biography and autobiography.

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Recent Activities

(*denotes occasions held under the joint auspices of the Unit and the School of English)

• an address by Gough Whitlam, Former Prime Minister of Australia , entitled 'Whitlam Unloads';
• a lecture by the eminent British cultural historical and autobiographer, Carolyn Steedman , entitled 'The Scholarship Girl';
• *a seminar by one of the authors of the Cambridge biography of D.H . Lawrence, Professor David Ellis, and Dr John Wiltshire, Reader in English, La Trobe University, on 'Medical Explanation in Biography';
• *a joint seminar between the Schools of English and History at La Trobe on 'Objectivity in Biography';
• a seminar by Richard Freadman and Diane Shelton, formerly of the Graduate School of Management at the University of Melbourne , on 'Biography and the Corporate Leader';
• a seminar by Dr Garry Kinnane , biographer of George Johnson and Senior Lecturer at the University of Melbourne , on 'Autobiography and Theory';
• a reading by the Unit's then Writer in Residence, Sally Morrison;
• a lecture by Sister Veronica Brady, Department of English, University of Western Australia, on her biography of Judith Wright, South of My Days , entitled 'More of a Haunting than a History?: The Problematics of Biography';
• a seminar paper by the Aboriginal writer, activist and academic, Dr Jacki Huggins, on Aboriginal auto/biography;
• a seminar by Associate Professor Johanna M Smith, University of Texas at Arlington , entitled 'That Horrid Parricide, Miss Blandy : Women Discuss Women in Eighteenth-Century Autobiographies';
• a seminar by Professor Greg Dening , School of History , University of Melbourne , entitled 'Beaches of the Mind: Gaugin's Advice, Melville's Example';
• *a seminar by Dr Ian Britain, School of History , Monash University , entitled ' Remythologising the Past: Simon Schama's Tales of Mystery and Imagination';
• a seminar by John Gatt-Rutter , biographer of Italo Svevo and Vaccari Professor of Italian at La Trobe University, entitled 'Writing the Elusive Lives of Italo Svevo alias Ettore Schmitz alias Leopold Bloom';
• a seminar by Dr John Wiltshire, entitled 'Imagining Jane Austen's Life, Biography and Transitional Space';
• *a seminar by Dr Lucy Sussex, entitled 'The Seven Deadly Sins of Biography';
• a seminar by Dr Meg Tasker , biographer of Francis Adams and Senior Lecturer at the University of Ballarat , entitled 'Ambiguity and Biographical Interpretation';
• *a seminar by Dr Janine Burke, Senior Lecturer at Deakin University and biographer of Albert Tucker, entitled 'Australian Gothic: Writing the Biography of Albert Tucker';
• a seminar by Rhys Isaac, Professor of History, La Trobe University, entitled 'Telling bound-together lives: Gentrylore Tales and Slaves' Memories';
• a seminar by Dr Roger Averill, biographer of Randoph Stow, La Trobe University, entitled 'The Uses of Biography in the Social Sciences';
• an autobiographical reading and seminar by Chris Wallace- Crabbe , poet, autobiographer, and Professor of English at the University of Melbourne , entitled ' Kitt Lost';
• 3rd IABA international conference, 'Life Writing and the Generations'.
  a seminar by David Cressy , Professor of History at Ohio State University , entitled 'Stories from the Archives of Early Modern England';
• a seminar by Sally Morrison discussing the life of artist Clifton Pugh, whose biography she is currently writing;
• an autobiographical reading and seminar by Peter Rose, author of the award-winning memoir Rose Boys and editor of 'Australian Book Review';
• seminar by Anthony Elliott, Director of the Centre for Critical Theory at the Univerity of the West of England, '(Auto) Texting the Globalized Life';
• a seminar by Catherine Kovesi Killerby , 'Women in Veils and Biografiends : Writing the Biography of Abbotsford Convent';
• a seminar by Dierdre Bair, biographer of Anais Nin, Samuel Beckett, Simone de Beauvoir & Carl Jung, Journalist and Professor of Comparative Literature. 'The Biographer's Thumb', a seminar on experiences as biographer and on the history of the genre;

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Recent visitors to the Unit have included:

• *The Australian writer and academic, Lucy Sussex;
• *the Australian novelist, Sally Morrison;
• *the Australian poet, Dr Jordi Albiston;
• *the New Zealand academic, Dr Lee Wallace;
• *Australian academics and life writing scholars: Dr Meg Tasker, Dr Keryn Carter, and Dr Roger Averill.
  

Funding and Sponsorship of the Unit for Studies in Biography and Autobiography

The Unit has received a generous seeding grant from the Vice-Chancellor and some additional funding from the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. It has also received a generous endowment from Dr Elizabeth Burchill. Further offers of support would be very welcome and Professor Freadman is keen to discuss any ideas that potential donors might have.

Postgraduate Applications

We are also very keen to build on the already thriving postgraduate research that has been done and is under way here in the area of biography and autobiography. We have had several postgraduate seminars on aspects of these topics and we strongly encourage anyone interested in undertaking postgraduate work in this or related fields to contact Professor Freadman.

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