ABSTRACT
The paper explores what we can learn about the ways in which human subjectivity operates when using autobiographies as our source material. It is an analysis of two autobiographical texts authored by the Canadian-British historian, Barbara Taylor, and seeks to answer the following questions. First, what do her texts reveal about the role played by human subjectivity in her historical research and history writing? Second, in what way do these autobiographies shed light on how her own subjectivity has been shaped and re-shaped? Hence, it is an analysis of the ways in which Taylor’s pasts have played a decisive role in the unfolding of her personal life and professional career.
Notes on contributor
Bernard Eric Jensen is adjunct professor of history at the Department of Communication and Arts at Roskilde University in Denmark. He has formerly worked at Copenhagen University, the Royal Danish School of Educational Studies and Aarhus University. His field of research is primarily focused on peoples’ uses of their pasts in their ongoing lives as well as on the history and theory of academic history. His publications are listed on his homepage: www.bernardericjensen.dk
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.