Studia Filologiczne UJK

Summary

This paper offers a survey of autobiography theory and writing in the Western tradition; and seeks to contribute to autobiography studies, by bringing together a variety of autobiographical writings and methods to present an over-reaching understanding of autobiography in theory and practice. It explains different approaches to autobiography: historical, terminological and critical. It is divided into five main sections which deal with the following: the development of autobiographical writing; the emergence of autobiography theorising; generic boundaries and intersections; hybrid genres; and current trends. The paper marks the recent theoretical shifts in autobiography studies, and considers the future of both autobiography and life-writing in terms of genre and critical inquiry.