American Characters: Biography and the Historians' Craft

Undergraduate

This seminar follows what has been a recent “biographical turn” among academic historians. Besides introducing students to the theoretical and conceptual questions involved in the narration of individual lives, it will survey some of the most inventive historical biographies of the past quarter century. Each student will execute a multi-step exploration of the lived experience, significance, and, if applicable, impact of a single individual from any period of US history.