Describes the plight of academics' wives, who are held captive to the responsibilities and requirements of their spouse's demanding careers. Outlines the ways that careers in academics remain inequitable for women. (HB)

Discusses the life and writing career of the popular author of adolescent literature, Gary Paulsen. Considers each of Paulsen's novels individually as literary works and the entire corpus as artistic achievement. (HB)

A history professor explains why he requires students to read the autobiography of Frederick Douglass, "The Narrative of Frederick Douglass." He finds students, both African American and white, react powerfully to the book (many choose to write a paper on Douglass) and feels the book touches upon nearly all the overarching problems of…

Responses of students in an adult development course who wrote five chapters of their life stories suggest that autobiographical writing leads adults through a process of self-exploration and meaning making. The result is a transformed view of themselves and their world. (SK)

Attempts to step outside the debate about personal writing in academic discourse and rework its configurations. Suggests that academics think anew about writing as a place where the personal and the academic, the private and the public, the individual and the institutional, are always inextricably interwoven. (TB)

Touches on central arguments surrounding the debate over the expressive essay for composition instruction. Notes that a primary assumption about the expressive essay--that it is honest and truthful--remains unchallenged. Suggests that students themselves offer ways to address concerns of social constructivists while acknowledging what is valuable…

Using Barbara Kingsolver's novel "Animal Dreams" and critical readings, the paper explores relationships between community, sense of place, and construction of meanings, noting the importance of autobiography in connecting with community and place in constructing landscapes and personal meaning and advocating for education that does not…

Uses teachers' autobiographies and action research as data sources to present an argument for valuing subjective, reflective knowledge based on Habermas's category of cognitive interest of emancipatory knowing. Explores the process of personal empowerment and proposes a model of change that includes disturbance, alternatives, confidence, and…

Autobiographies are effective tools for assessing students' predispositions toward science and mathematics content. Analyzes autobiographies of students (N=98) in elementary education methods classes to determine the kinds of K-12 and college content course experiences that affect their perceptions of mathematics or science. Reveals that attitudes…

Autobiographical writing groups in senior centers have become popular in senior centers. In addition to increasing self-esteem, recognizing past solutions as they relate to current problems, and helping to develop new relationships, writing groups also provide a social dimension. (JOW)

In this study, the authors investigated the relationship between autobiographical memory and the onset and maintenance of distressing memories following cancer. In Study 1, participants recently diagnosed with head, neck, or lung cancer were assessed for acute stress disorder (ASD). Participants with ASD reported fewer specific memories than did…

In this article the author argues that the current state of educational inquiry, particularly as it relates to action research and qualitative inquiry, is in high flux. If this were true, several possible implications follow. First is the idea that with this flux all inquiry occurs in a context that is political, organisational, and geographical.…

"Change Matters," written by leading scholars committed to social justice in English education, provides researchers, university instructors, and preservice and inservice teachers with a framework that pivots social justice toward policy. The chapters in this volume detail rationales about generating social justice theory in what Freire calls "the…

In 1980, on behalf of the Gros Ventre people, George P. Horse Capture published "The Seven Visions of Bull Lodge, as Told by His Daughter, Garter Snake." "The Seven Visions" describes a lifetime of personal encounters with Powerful other-than-human Persons by the noted Gros Ventre warrior and ritual leader, Bull Lodge (ca.…

On the first day of English composition, students unleash a torrent of reasons why writing scared them as they write their opening day personal autobiographies. Most comments focus on reasons that have little to do with the craft or complexities of great writing. Numerous students bemoan their use of "substandard" English, thinking that their ways…