Autobiography

Autobiography is the practice of an individual writing her or his own life story. By nature, it is subjective, offering an individual's unique and felt experience as written by that person. This entry outlines the historical trajectory of autobiographical writing, including present trends and future outlook. It identifies various subgenres of autobiographical work and points to ethical and validity issues raised by the same. It points to the ways in which autobiographical writing and narrating are relevant to action research practice, at the first, second and third person levels.

While many autobiographies are written by public figures—statesmen, politicians, writers, artists and, latterly, celebrities—this is not exclusively so. The genre has developed into a writing approach that encompasses memoir, testimonio and historical and eye witness accounts and is more valued for the specificity of the account than the public importance of its subject or writer. Many autobiographies are now written by those present at particular historical and political events of note, such as the Tiananmen Square protests and the 9/11 attacks on New York City, or during natural disasters, such as the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. Others write their life stories from a position of notoriety, such as the criminal and maverick lifestyles of Ronnie Biggs, convicted felon, prison escapee and fugitive, and Howard Marks, international drug smuggler.

The genre has developed from being one of self-written accounts by those in positions of power and control to include those neglected or subjugated by social structures. The latter include Jung Chan, a Red Guard youth in Maoist China; Primo Levi's account of living through the Holocaust and Rigoberta Menchú, the populist Guatemalan civil rights activist.

The key requirements for an autobiography as established by Philippe Lejeune, a leading autobiographical critic, are that an autobiography should have an author, subject and narrator who are one and the same person and that an autobiography should be self-written and narrated. Lejeune introduced the concept of the ‘autobiographical pact’ as a contract that contains a self-written story by a verifiable person: one who has ‘a proper name’ that appears on the book cover. The triple identification of the autobiographer in this way, states Lejeune, establishes an intention of sincerity and truthfulness in the narrative.

The relevance of autobiography to the field of action research lies in the valuing of the individual experiences. It lends itself to the practice of self-reflection, marking how an individual has developed and changed through various life influences. The validity of action research processes is strengthened through acknowledging the multiple identities and experiences of its players, along with their potential effect on the construction and participation of the research act and its outcomes. At the same time, sharing autobiographical accounts allows for the identification of similarities and differences in experiences, which can provide the understanding and synergy for taking forward action research processes.