Getting A Life: Everyday Uses of Autobiography
By (Author) Sidonie Smith
Contributions by Julia Watson
University of Minnesota Press
University of Minnesota Press
1st May 1996
United States
Tertiary Education
Non Fiction
Autobiography: philosophy and social sciences
Cultural studies
Media studies
920
Paperback
432
Width 149mm, Height 229mm, Spine 23mm
From resumes to personal ads, from talk shows to self-help groups, autobiographical storytelling has become a central theme of American culture. Visual media offer possible lives through soap operas, talk shows, and "lifestyle programming", and newspapers and magazines frame their stories as "personality profiles". This text explores a variety of occasions during which people consume personal narratives. This collection aims to expand our understanding of how we negotiate and commodify identity.