What does it mean to write about one’s self? What possibilities or limits are there in autobiography? How much of autobiographical writing is about one’s self and how much is about others? How does one define himself in relation to others? How does the writer select his memories, how does he decide what to include and exclude? Are there multiple voices within one subject in autobiography? Is the subject the result of a complexity of voices within himself? Related topics to autobiography that we will be discussing are: naming, melancholia, subjectivity, history. While focusing on the questions raised by texts, this course will introduce students to methods of close reading, critical thinking, argumentative writing, and research. Course requirements include: regular readings, essays and rewrites, and a longer final paper. Most of the reading material will be provided through CTools.