Biography and History

3 credit hours · Graduate

This course will examine the relationship between biography and history, beginning with consideration of how far the essentials of historical methodology can be followed in biographical study. A variety of forms of biography will then be examined, including private and public approaches to biography, autobiography, and popular biography. Specific biographical subjects will be explored in detail as case studies. The central question considered throughout will be whether biography, in any of its forms, can be considered either as a form of historical enquiry or as a valid historical source.