Between History and Memory: the Memoir in the Age of Forgetfulness

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A memoir is a historical account of the past written from a personal angle. But how does the memoirist “unlock” the past? If individual memory is dynamic and ever-changing and collective histories get re-written often, what are the memoirist’s sources? How does the past come to “speak” to him or her? What are his or her obligation to historical accuracy? In this seminar, we will read memoirs, personal essays and theoretical works on memoir, memory and history. Writers will include Joan Didion, Edmund de Waal, James Baldwin, Simon de Beauvoir, Marianne Hirsch, Reinhart Koselleck and others. Midterm and final papers will be assigned.