Framing Identities: Autobiography and the Politics of Pedagogy

Within the context of Oberlin, a small liberal arts college in Ohio, this book looks at the uses of autobiographical practices in empowering groups traditionally marginalized in academic settings. Investigating the process of self-representation and the social, spatial, and discursive frames within which academic bodies and identities are constituted, Framing Identities explores the use of autobiographical acts in terms of power, influence, risks involved, and effectiveness. Hesford provides a model for teacher-researchers across the disciplines (education, English, composition, cultural studies, women's studies, to name a few) to investigate the contradictory uses and consequences of autobiography, and to carve out new pedagogical spaces.