In March 1976, Howard L. Hurwitz, then a principal in Long Island City Schools, was barricaded in his office by community supporters to prevent him from being fired for an action he took to maintain discipline in the school. This book is Hurwitz's personal account of his subsequent struggles with the New York City schools, including his arrest by…

Explores the use of introspective writing by others as a means of understanding two characteristics of intrapersonal communication: the process of selective memory which defines and redefines personal history and the pattern of habitual thinking which confirms self-identity. Recommends the classroom use of memoirs and journals. (PD)

The theme explored in this personal narrative is that of the life of a rhetorician, in writing and in speech. The narrative muses about what goes into the making of a rhetorician, questioning whether it might be ritualized education, proceeding along lines of traditional methodology, or whether it could be informal education, hit-or-miss, with its…

Arguing that first-person narratives can illustrate communication theories and concepts found throughout basic communication course texts and can serve as first-person examples of the effects of racism and stereotyping, this paper summarizes two "powerful and engaging" texts that illustrate the standpoint of African-Americans in the…

This paper argues that faculty career studies have neglected important work in life-span human development and narratives of the academic life. It suggests that such studies should use recent contributions from the behavioral sciences, pay attention to scholarly and scientific biography/autobiography, be discipline specific, and use varied methods…

A junior high school teacher shares the story of a childhood dominated by poverty, family alcoholism, sexual and physical victimization, and haphazard school attendance. Surviving these traumatic experiences (and a teen pregnancy) was not easy. This teacher's background enables her to unearth covering-up strategies used by children trying to…

Scrutinizes the author's response to a seemingly stereotypical male narrative written by a student fitting the disruptive macho male stereotype. Examines how teachers respond to stereotypical male narratives of conquest and individualist triumph, and whether their responses to such essays are not conditioned by their responses to the authors. (TB)

Argues for the use of autobiography paired with radical doubt as a strategy to arrive at intersubjectivity, thereby avoiding false claims to objectivity and failure-prone inner (hyper) subjectivity. Uses this argument to introduce the contributions to the special thematic journal issue of which this paper is a part. (Contains 24 references.)…

This paper introduces autobiographical analysis as a "disruptive strategy" that is deliberately structured to enable preservice teachers to develop new ways of thinking about teaching. Specifically, we: 1) describe how we incorporate a process of critical examination of preservice teachers' biases and assumptions throughout their…

Extending research on age norms in adults, the development of the knowledge of two components of the cultural concept of biography, biographical salience of and age norms for life events was studied from late childhood to early adulthood in Study 1 and across adulthood in Study 2. The largest increase in knowledge was found between ages 8 and 12,…

The themes of adult learning, cross-cultural learning, and transformative learning are common to many continuing educators working at universities across Canada. In this essay, I narrate my experiences as a mature, adult learner returning to university. Following a literature review and discussion of methodology, I begin this autobiographical…

The book is Katherine Peter's own account, in her native Gwich'in Athabaskan language, of life in 1936-47 in Arctic Village, Alaska. An introductory section offers background information on the author's life and the origins of this work. The text that follows is in Gwich'in Athabaskan on the left page, and in English on the right page. It tells of…

A study investigated the ways male and female fifth-grade writers compose short, open-ended autobiographical narratives. The research focused on whether students composed narratives reproducing society's prescription of reality according to gender roles, or whether they found their own voices, writing as autonomous writers representing their own…

To understand literature, it is necessary for a reader to make connections between the text of the literary work and the text of the reader's life. Student autobiographical writing before reading can be used to enhance students' ability to make such connections. Autobiographical writing helps students apply relevant life experience that might not…

Composing and telling stories can allow a person to resist and revise those confining stories drafted by others. As an illustration of the powerful role narrative plays in English teachers' research and teaching, a pre-service teacher's autobiographical story narrates her refusal of the oppressive roles she had been assigned. The teacher's story…