Material Information |
| Title: |
Writing Herself into Existence Contemporary American Women's Life-Writing |
| Physical Description: |
Book |
| Language: |
English |
| Creator: |
Morvillo, Taryn |
| Publisher: |
New College of Florida |
| Place of Publication: |
Sarasota, Fla. |
| Creation Date: |
2003 |
| Publication Date: |
2003 |
Subjects |
| Subjects / Keywords: |
Feminism
Literature
Life-Writing
Addiction |
| Genre: |
bibliography ( marcgt )
theses ( marcgt )
government publication (state, provincial, terriorial, dependent) ( marcgt )
born-digital ( sobekcm )
Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
Notes |
| Abstract: |
The increasingly blurred distinction between fiction and nonfiction offers a unique opportunity to examine the effectiveness of raising political issues within the broadly construed genre I call 'life writing.' Marya Hornbacher's memoir Wasted (1998), Dorothy Allison's Bastard Out of Carolina (1992), and Nora Oki a Keller's Comfort Woman (1998) all represent this blurting between fiction and nonfiction, memoir and novel. These experiential narratives challenge the traditional constructs of knowledge as that which is solely rational and empirical through the assertion that individual or collective experience is a particularly valid form of knowledge. At first glance, it appears that these three texts do not constitute a shared literary genre as conventionally defined. However, this thesis aims to show that the importance and significance of each work is heightened and increased when they are examined together. The concept of an 'active' reader is encouraged, even demanded by works such as these. An active reader must bring her or his own knowledge, both affective and empirical, to the text in order to better analyze not only the work in quest/on, but in its context within the larger arenas of literature, politics, feminism, and that reader's own life. Reading from the personal-confessional of Wasted to the fictionalized autobiography of Bastard Out of Carolina, and ending with the personal and historical fictional memoir Comfort Woman traces the link between experience and gendered knowledge. |
| Statement of Responsibility: |
by Taryn Morvillo |
| Thesis: |
Thesis (B.A.) -- New College of Florida, 2003 |
| Electronic Access: |
RESTRICTED TO NCF STUDENTS, STAFF, FACULTY, AND ON-CAMPUS USE |
| Bibliography: |
Includes bibliographical references. |
| Source of Description: |
This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law. |
| Local: |
Faculty Sponsor: Wallace, Miriam |
Record Information |
| Source Institution: |
New College of Florida |
| Holding Location: |
New College of Florida |
| Rights Management: |
Applicable rights reserved. |
| Classification: |
local - S.T. 2003 M89 |
| System ID: |
NCFE003270:00001 |
|
Material Information |
| Title: |
Writing Herself into Existence Contemporary American Women's Life-Writing |
| Physical Description: |
Book |
| Language: |
English |
| Creator: |
Morvillo, Taryn |
| Publisher: |
New College of Florida |
| Place of Publication: |
Sarasota, Fla. |
| Creation Date: |
2003 |
| Publication Date: |
2003 |
Subjects |
| Subjects / Keywords: |
Feminism
Literature
Life-Writing
Addiction |
| Genre: |
bibliography ( marcgt )
theses ( marcgt )
government publication (state, provincial, terriorial, dependent) ( marcgt )
born-digital ( sobekcm )
Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
Notes |
| Abstract: |
The increasingly blurred distinction between fiction and nonfiction offers a unique opportunity to examine the effectiveness of raising political issues within the broadly construed genre I call 'life writing.' Marya Hornbacher's memoir Wasted (1998), Dorothy Allison's Bastard Out of Carolina (1992), and Nora Oki a Keller's Comfort Woman (1998) all represent this blurting between fiction and nonfiction, memoir and novel. These experiential narratives challenge the traditional constructs of knowledge as that which is solely rational and empirical through the assertion that individual or collective experience is a particularly valid form of knowledge. At first glance, it appears that these three texts do not constitute a shared literary genre as conventionally defined. However, this thesis aims to show that the importance and significance of each work is heightened and increased when they are examined together. The concept of an 'active' reader is encouraged, even demanded by works such as these. An active reader must bring her or his own knowledge, both affective and empirical, to the text in order to better analyze not only the work in quest/on, but in its context within the larger arenas of literature, politics, feminism, and that reader's own life. Reading from the personal-confessional of Wasted to the fictionalized autobiography of Bastard Out of Carolina, and ending with the personal and historical fictional memoir Comfort Woman traces the link between experience and gendered knowledge. |
| Statement of Responsibility: |
by Taryn Morvillo |
| Thesis: |
Thesis (B.A.) -- New College of Florida, 2003 |
| Electronic Access: |
RESTRICTED TO NCF STUDENTS, STAFF, FACULTY, AND ON-CAMPUS USE |
| Bibliography: |
Includes bibliographical references. |
| Source of Description: |
This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law. |
| Local: |
Faculty Sponsor: Wallace, Miriam |
Record Information |
| Source Institution: |
New College of Florida |
| Holding Location: |
New College of Florida |
| Rights Management: |
Applicable rights reserved. |
| Classification: |
local - S.T. 2003 M89 |
| System ID: |
NCFE003270:00001 |
|