LIT 123A Autobiography: The Augustinian Tradition

Close reading of five genetically linked self-portraits that have determined the dominant tradition of self-representation in the West: Augustine, Dante, Petrarch, Montaigne, Rousseau. Topics for discussion: the concept of identity, narrative strategies for presentation of the self, the interplay between discursive operations (language, reading, writing) and lived experience, the policing of the body, and sexual difference as a basis for self-determination. Critical approach designations: Canons, Genres. Distribution requirement: Pre-1750.