Highlighting auto/biographical practices in western and eastern, old and new or future parts of Europe, the essays in this volume discuss the construction of individual, cultural and political identities within a changing landscape from the late eighteenth century until the present. This publication contains a selection of reworked papers presented at the international conference ‘Life Writing in Europe’ (2009) that was the starting point for the network IABA Europe (http://www.iaba-europe.eu)
This publication considers the literary, historical, cultural, and intellectual contexts of American women authors from the seventeenth century to the present and gives an analysis of current literary trends and debates in women’s literature. The volume examines the ways in which women writers from diverse racial, social, and cultural backgrounds have shaped American literary traditions, giving particular attention to the ways writers worked inside, outside, and around the strictures of their cultural and historical moments to create space for women’s voices and experiences as a vital part of American life.