ERIC Number: EJ880652
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Mar
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0158-037X
EISSN: N/A
After Life Review: Autobiography as "Art of the Future"
Karpiak, Irene
Studies in Continuing Education, v32 n1 p47-60 Mar 2010
When adult students write their life story, they gather selected life experiences and transform these onto the written page. In the course of this literary process they revisit sites of the past and reflect on the meaning of past events; many reconstruct these events from the point of view of the present, and most close their narrative by affirming their identity in the present and envisioning a possible future. Through an analysis of the written life narratives as well as research with one group of writers, a case is made for autobiography's power as an instructional method to bring new light to the past and deepen our sense of self and others.
Descriptors: Autobiographies, Personal Narratives, Memory, Time Perspective, Adult Learning, Adult Education, Adult Students, Continuing Education, Self Concept, Reflection, Writing (Composition), Transformative Learning, Perspective Taking, Therapeutic Environment
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A