ISLS 3260
Reconstructing our Early Years: Childhood in Memoir, Literature and Society
Course Description
The childhood memoir has become one of the most popular genres, outdistancing fictional accounts as the place readers come to for an understanding of their own formative years and those of others. This course explores classic memoirs of growing up in the U.S. in the 20th century by Russell Baker, Maya Angelou, Gregory Orr, Mary Karr, and Jeanette Walls. Students will write childhood memoirs of their own.