Department of English

Autobiography in the Americas: Writing the Self in its Global and Local Contexts

Through the reading of autobiographies by established figures from diverse cultural backgrounds and through the writing by students of their autobiographies, the purpose of this course is to encourage students to think in writing about their relation to the local community of West Philadelphia in a global context. The course will bring together ten students from University City High School with ten Penn undergraduates. Both groups of students will collaborate through discussion and research on the construction of these autobiographies. Class readings will be of two kinds: autobiographical writings (essays and books) and the daily newspaper (the Philadelphia Inquirer in this case). The autobiographies to be read will be multicultural in scope, with a focus on writings from the African-American, Native American, Asian American, Euramerican, and Latino/a communities. This course is taught in conjunction with the Penn Center for Community Partnerships. The instructors are Professors Cheyfitz and Fausti. Permission of the instructors is required to register.