ANTH 250(1): Methods in Anthropology: Life Histories/Self Narratives
Prof. LeeRay M. Costa                                                                 Hollins University, SPRING 2004

Course Description
 

What is a life history?  What is a self narrative?  What can they tell us about individuals and the social and cultural groups of which they are a part?  How have theories of life history evolved over time and how has theory been shaped by various academic disciplines and their intersections?  How does a researcher go about practically conducting a life history/self narrative, analyzing and presenting it?  As both a method and a window onto humanity and culture, how might life history/self narrative be applied more broadly and used more effectively by people other than scholars? 

These are just some of the questions explored in this course.  Through a critical examination of concepts of life history and self narrative, we will discuss their pros and cons, and their various applications in academic and non-academic contexts.  Readings, drawn from diverse cultural and historical contexts  will expose students to a variety of ways that life history has been utilized within social science and the humanities.  We will explore how life history/self narrative might be used as one method for recording the experiences of both individuals and communities.  Thus we will look at how categories of difference (e.g. race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, age, religion, geographic location) are experienced and reflected on by the narrators of life histories.

The course is aimed to acquaint students with both theory and method. Therefore a significant part of the course will focus on teaching students to use the method of life history/self narrative. Students will learn to organize and conduct life story interviews, to transcribe them and finally, to present them in written form.  As a result, the course will demand a significant time investment outside of class meetings. Please be sure that you can meet the course requirements before committing to the course.