Seeking the self in a sentence : arguing for ethical reception of self-writing with two Late Antique case studies

Date
2019
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Producer
Director
Performer
Choreographer
Costume Designer
Music
Videographer
Lighting Designer
Set Designer
Crew Member
Funder
Rehearsal Director
Concert Coordinator
Advisor
Moderator
Panelist
Alternative Title
Department
Type
Thesis
Original Format
Running Time
File Format
Place of Publication
Date Span
Copyright Date
Award
Language
en
Note
Table of Contents
Terms of Use
Rights Holder
Access Restrictions
Terms of Use
Tripod URL
Identifier
Abstract
It is commonly held that we read autobiographies because we want to see ourselves represented in others’ accounts of their experiences; we want to be able to appropriate the authorial identity, and we engage with texts under the assumption that such appropriation is proper. This thesis is an exploration of such assumptions and seeks to push back against the expectation of representation and the supposition of the reader’s right over the autobiographical realities of others, and consider the ethical implications of such reception. I will begin by defining my key terms in Chapter 1. Chapters 2 and 3 will analyze two case studies from Late Antiquity, Augustine’s Confessions and Dhuoda’s Handbook, respectively. In Chapter 4, I call to reframe autobiographical reception as an ethical act. To crystallize this, I will apply Levinas’ theory of the ethical import of the Face-of-the-Other and argue for autobiography’s viability as a textual Face in order to explain the ethical demands native to the act of reception.
Description
Citation