Norman denzin interpretive biography examples

They require no less than organizing into text the chaos of human existence. In Interpretive Biography Denzin combines one of the oldest techniques in the social sciences and humanities with one of the newest. Bringing in elements of postmodernism and interpretive social science, he reexamines the biographical and autobiographical genres.

In addition, the book outlines a new way in which biographies should be conceptualized and shaped. Have you created a personal profile? Login or create a profile so that you can save clips, playlists and searches. Navigating away from this page will delete your results. Please save your results to "My Self-Assessments" in your profile before navigating away from this page.

But what are the bare facts, if I were to write them. The yellow house, the small north living room with a player piano and on a card table, a small stage where I made scenery and manipulated puppets. The old mahogany gramophone with its crank, its pitiful power of reproduction. In the dining room an overhead lamp made from the panels of a mandarin coat.

Against the wall the helm of my father's sailboat — long gone, inlaid with mother of pearl Susan Cheever,p. In other words, Fate begins to guide our lives even before we are born … My start [p. There is no good father, that's the rule … I left behind me a young man who did not have time to be my father and who could now be my son. Was it a good thing or a bad?

I don't know. But I readily subscribe to the verdict of the eminent psychoanalyst: I have no Superego. Wagnerp. His father died before his birth, and his mother married the brother of her first husband, Otto Schutz. This man was a bank executive who secured a good middle-class existence for his family; a quiet person, he did not exert much influence on his stepson.

By contrast, Schutz's mother was energetic, strong-willed, and protective. She played a decisive role in guiding her son's development … Richard Ellmanp. My book had its origins at that time, although I did not work on it steadily until Ellman's textp. This book enters Joyce's life to reflect his complex … incessant joining of event and composition.

His relations appear in his books under thin disguises. Quentin Bellp. The Stephens emerge from obscurity in the middle of the eighteenth century. They were farmers, merchants, and receivers of contraband goods in Aberdeenshire … As soon as she was able to consider such things Virginia believed that she was heiress to two very different and in fact opposed traditions p.

Situating the Method Several critical points concerning the autobiographical and biographical method may be drawn from these extended excerpts.

Norman denzin interpretive biography examples

Autobiographies and biographies are conventionalized, narrative expressions of life experiences. These conventions serve to define the biographical method as a distinct approach to the study of human experience. They are Western literary conventions and have been present since the invention of the biographical form. Some are more central than others although they all appear to be universal, while they change and take different form depending on the writer, the place of writing, and the historical moment.

They shape how lives are told. In so doing, they create the subject matter of the biographical approach. They were each present in the biographical and autobiographical excerpts just presented. I will treat each in turn. This other may be God, as norman denzin interpretive biography examples Augustine; other women Woolf and Steedman ; or an intellectual or status community of abstract and specific people Ellman, Wagner, Sartre, Cheever, Bell, Stanley.

The eye of the other directs the eye of the writer Elbaz,p. Gender and Class: These texts are gendered, class productions, reflecting the biases and values of patriarchy and the middle class. They are ideological statements, often representing and defending the class or gender position of the writer. But more is at issue. Until recently, women did not write autobiographies.

Their lives were not deemed important enough to have biographies written about them Steedman,p. For example, William Mathew's standard bibliography of British spiritual autobiographies written during the nineteenth century lists twenty-two written by men and five by women Peterson,pp. Of the twenty-five individuals in Plummer'sp. It is as if every author of an autobiography or biography must start with family, finding there the zero point of origin for the life in question.

Elbazp. Textual Turning Points: By beginning the autobiographical or biographical text with family, these sources presume that lives have beginnings or starting points. But, on this, Gertrude Steinquoted by Elbaz,p. You know what I am going to do. I am going to write it for you. I am going to write it as simply as Defoe did the autobiography of Robinson Crusoe.

In addition, the book outlines a new way in which biographies should be conceptualized and shaped. The book points up the inherent weaknesses in traditional biographical forms, and outlines a new way in which biographies should be conceptualized and shaped. Of particular merit here is the development of the sociological enterprise along lines of the sociological imagination.

Denzin not only adds to the Mills tradition, but also extends it. In this book, he introduces the key concept of epiphany, or turning points in person's lives. Along the way, a host of examples areprovided, making this an extremely valuable volume for practitioners of the method. Bringing in elements of postmodernism and interpretive social science, it re-examines the biographical and autobiographical genres Includes bibliographical references pages Open Library Subject Biography as a literary form.

The 'publicdate' metadata field on the Internet Archive website, which usually indicates when they published the file, usually shortly after scanning. Should you need additional information or have questions regarding the HEOA information provided for this title, including what is new to this edition, please email sageheoa sagepub.

Please include your name, contact information, and the name of the title for which you would like more information. For assistance with your order: Please email us at textsales sagepub. Prof Denzin gives practical examples of biographies and then reviews them in an academic fashion. This is highly effective and very useful for the novice thesis writer.

Skip to main content. Volume: