Older people grow and develop psychologically; they do not necessarily decline in intellectual functioning; and they are capable of learning and enriching their own lives and the lives of others with their wisdom and experience. However, in a fast-paced and impatient culture, little time is given to hearing what older people have to say. Older…

A study examined the portrait of the woman journalist as revealed through the autobiographies of eight women journalists whose careers spanned the decades of the 1920s and 1930s. The portrait was derived from several factors in the autobiographies: education and career commitment, character of personality traits, jobs in the profession, statements…

This paper describes the methods used to teach identity formation in a college course entitled "Identity and Society," through an exploration of the autobiographies of several prominant Americans. The three phases of an autobiographical approach to one's present identity are discussed as the search for facts according to criteria, illustrated by…

This study examines several genres of Nuyorican literature (works by and about Puerto Ricans in New York) in an effort to demonstrate how authors interpret the political and social contexts of their environment. Works analyzed are the dramas "Short Eyes" and "The Sun Always Shines for the Cool" by Miguel Pinero and "Noo…

Antebellum slave narratives can be valuable literary materials in four different kinds of literature courses. In a survey of American literature, slave narratives serve as records of the attitudes and activities of early Americans, as examples of travel literature, and as examples of late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century adventure…

The 2-volume Appalachian bibliography is alphabetically arranged by authors' last names under alphabetically listed subject headings. Volume I contains A-L subject headings, while Volume II contains L-W subject headings. The majority of the 8,220 documents cited are annotated and were published between 1891 and 1970. The bibliography contains such…

The student teaching experience often creates affective friction between the student and his supervisor which may have debilitating effects on the student's self-image and ultimate performance in the teaching role. This study reports on the formal evaluation of a technique (developed at Clark University) of sharing personal biography which aimed…

Argues that instructors might have more success in teaching analysis and exposition--public forms of writing--if the autobiographical writing of undergraduates were viewed primarily as a private way to find ideas, not always as material itself to be shaped into public autobiographical prose. (MS)

The autobiographical essays in this volume offer insights into how the field of education might change as women assume positions of intellectual leadership. After the "Foreword" (Mary Catherine Bateson), the 13 chapters are: (1) "Research Lives: Women, Scholarship, and Autobiography in Education" (Anna Neumann and Penelope L.…

New voices and perspectives from an increasingly diverse student body challenge educators to reconsider customary ways of seeing and doing the business of teaching writing. This challenge led researchers at Rhode Island College to create an informal writers' group with peers rather than instructors as facilitators. Writers' Informal Network (WIN)…

Based on "The Autobiography of Malcolm X," this lesson plan presents activities in which students work collaboratively to evaluate four stages in the life of Malcolm X, each corresponding to a different name he used; consider how each name Malcolm X used reflected that period in his life; and draw conclusions in a written essay about how his life…

In "Black Boy," Richard Wright triumphs over an ugly, racist world by fashioning an inspiring, powerful, beautiful, and fictionalized autobiography. To help students understand and appreciate his story in the cultural, political, racial, social, and literary contexts of its time, this casebook provides primary historical documents,…

This autobiography recounts the life story of an African American educator at the University of Iowa from 1965 to 1991, as its first African American professor and then as its first African American administrator. The book recounts his childhood and family relations, his student years at the university and his graduation as an electrical engineer,…

Argues that in order to understand the contemporary state of black literature, history, and protest, we must study the developments which occurred between 1789 and 1930 in the writing of black autobiographies; the central theme which runs through these autobiographies is the demand for the recognition of black manhood. (Author/JM)

Looks at the autobiographies of immigrant women and discusses the attitude that immigrants must learn English in exchange for the advantages accrued to them. Suggests that this attitude reflects an unrealistic view of the immigrant experience as uniformly positive. Concludes that any policy designed to create common linguistic ground for national…