The HRC Biography Institute

The Australian National University:

http://www.anu.edu.au/hrc/BIOGINST/index.php

The HRC Biography Institute has been established in order to encourage and promote biographical work of various kinds -- including autobiography, memoir, life-writing -- and in various media. It is run by a Board chaired by the Director of the HRC and including up to six other members.

The Life Writing Research Unit

Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Western Australia:

http://research.humanities.curtin.edu.au/lif_index.cfm

This site contains information about the Unit, its seminars, and the Life Writing journal. Co-directors: Dr Mary Besemeres and Dr Maureen Perkins.

The Life Writing Site

http://www.lifenarrative.net

Designed to act as a free public archive of life writing articles and book reviews and to showcase work in life writing. Website editor: Dr. Susan Tridgell.

Unit for Studies in Biography and Autobiography

LaTrobe University, Bundoora:

http://www.latrobe.edu.au/www/english/usba/usba.html

Contains information about recent and future activities of the Unit; its history, structure, and funding; and postgraduate applications. Unit Director: Richard S. Freadman.

Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for the History and Theory of Biography

http://gtb.lbg.ac.at/

Founded in April 2005, the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for the History and Theory of Biography comprises an international team of 10 researchers. The main critical focus is on the methods of modern biographical writing. Drawing on insights from social science, literary theory, anthropology and gender theory, the institute is developing a comprehensive theory of the genre - biography. In addition, work is in progress on four scholarly biographies of exponents of Austrian Modernism: Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Eugenie Schwarzwald, Thomas Bernhard and Ernst Jandl.

Director: Dr Wilhelm W. Hemecker

Auteures acadiennes: Acadian Women's (Life) Writing

http://www.mta.ca/research/awlw

This Mount Allison University website in French combines bibliographies, short annotations of important titles, some biographical material about authors and secondary sources (where available).

Editor: Dr. Monika Boehringer

"Autobiography and Changing Identities" July 2000 Conference,

University of British Columbia, Vancouver:

http://www.english.ubc.ca/projects/ab2000/index.htm

Conference information includes abstracts of papers delivered by presenters from Australia, Britain, Canada, China, France, and the United States.

Conference organizers: Susanna Egan, Gabriele Helms, and Shirley Neuman.

Lingnan University Life Writing Research Program

http://www.ln.edu.hk/eng/lwrp

Founded in 2007, the Lingnan University Life Writing Research Program (LWRP) aims to establish Lingnan as an international centre for studies in Eastern and Western life writing. Though based in the English Department, LWRP is an interdisciplinary facility which welcomes participation from and collaboration with all areas of the university.

Director: Professor Richard Freadman

"Inhabiting Multiple Worlds: Auto/biography in an (Anti)global Age"

Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 15-20 March 2004:

http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/eng/conference/Index.htm

Contains a detailed four day program and other information about Fourth International Auto/Biography Association (IABA) Conference.

Conference organizer: Professor David Parker.

European Life Story Archive:

http://www.valt.helsinki.fi/staff/jproos/lifestoryarchive.htm

Site includes many links to archives throughout Europe. Online archive under onstruction as of January 2001.

Director: Professor J.P. Roos.

Autopacte:

http://worldserver.oleane.com/autopact/index.html

Written almost entirely in French and covering auto/biographical studies mainly in France, this site includes a general bibliography of studies of auto/biography; recent works; theses in progress in French universities; studies of the personal journal from 1938 to the present; a list of personal journals published since 1997; list of journals devoted auto/biography in French, English, German, Spanish, and Italian; lists of guides to writing autobiography in French and English; lists of bibliographies of autobiographies in German, English, Danish, Spanish, French, French, Italian, Dutch, Polish, and Russian; lists of online diaries in English, German, French, and Swedish; lists of recent and upcoming conferences in mainly in France; and names and addresses of specialized bookstores in Paris. Maintained by Philippe Lejeune.

Association interdisciplinaire de recherche sur l'epistolairé (l' AIRE):

http://www.epistolaire.org/

The official site of l'AIRE, containing such sections as Accueil", "Présentation", "La revue", "Activités", and "Liens partenaires". Maintained by Brigitte Diaz.

Projet Ipséité:

http://www.ipseite.net

A bibliographic database which keeps intimate diaries and notebooks published or translated into French. Edited by Dr. Jean-Luc Pagès

Fondazione Archivio Diaristico Nazionale Onlus:

http://www.archiviodiari.it/default.htm

In Italian, the site describes the Foundation's many activities, including its archive and journal, Primapersona.

Director: Saverio Tutino.

Biografie Instituut / Institute of Biography, University of Groningen:

http://www.rug.nl/biografieinstituut

Established within the University of Groningen in 2004, The Biografie Instituut aims to achieve its objectives by organising academic conferences and symposia and by the publication of biographies, conference papers and academic articles.

Director: Prof. Dr. Hans Renders

Auto/Biography:

http://www.AutoBiographyJournal.com

Auto/Biography is an international and interdisciplinary journal addressing theoretical, epistemological, and empirical issues relating to autobiographical and biographical research.

Editor: Andrew Sparkes, Reviews Editor: Michael Erben.

Association of Personal Historians:

http://www.personalhistorians.org

Describes the work of the Association, which aims to help others preserve their life stories and personal histories. Includes membership information, a "Coaching Corner," and extensive links to other life story websites.

Centre for Life History Research at the University of Sussex:

http://www.sussex.ac.uk/clhr/

Describes the Centre's many activities surrounding the use of life stories "as a primary source for social, cultural, and historical research." Includes links to the Centre's ongoing Seminar Series, and its Courses and Training Opportunities. The Centre houses the Mass-Observation Archive (see below).

The Centre for Narrative & Auto/Biographical Studies

http://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/NABS/

The Centre for Narrative & Auto/Biographical Studies (NABS) is an interdisciplinary virtual research centre at the University of Edinburgh. NABS brings together people interested in all aspects of narrative and all forms of auto/biographical representation, from talk to transcribed text, from photographs to memorial sites, from verbal introductions to hagiography, from letters and cards to friends to memoirs and autobiographies, from obituaries to painted portraits, from academic biography to sculpture, and more.

Director: Professor Liz Stanley

The Encyclopedia of Life Writing:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Encyclopedia-Life-Writing-Autobiographical-Biographical/dp/157958232X

Description of the comprehensive reference work edited by Margaretta Jolly.

Historical Manuscript Commission:

http://www.hmc.gov.uk/archon/archon.htm

A gateway site to manuscript archives in Britain, with extensive links to non-U.K. archives and related websites worldwide. If you are looking for the location of life histories or auto/biographical manuscripts in English or other languages, this is a good place to begin searching.

The Mass-Observation Archive:

http://www.sussex.ac.uk/library/massobs

Explains the Archive, a collection of writing by ordinary people about their experiences gathered from 1937 to 1949 and resumed in 1981. Includes detailed descriptions of the holdings, finding aids, and information on the Archives' origins. Based at the University of Sussex.

National Sound Archive -- Oral History Home Page:

http://www.bl.uk/collections/sound-archive/nlscnews.html

Describes the work of the British Library's National Sound Archives, which "collects audio and videotaped interviews as well as carrying out its own programme of life story recordings." Includes a multitude of links to Oral History groups worldwide.

Oral History Society:

http://www.oralhistory.org.uk

Provides information about oral history, its uses, the Society, its conferences, the Oral History Journal, its other publications, and email contact. The Society is based in the Sociology Department at Essex University.

Random Access Memory:

http://www.randomaccessmemory.org

"An experiment in collective remembering." A place to write your own memories online. Over 2500 people have contributed their memories thus far.

a/b: Auto/Biography Studies, University of Wisconsin, Whitewater:

http://facstaff.uww.edu/hoganj/ab.htm

Provides publication and submission information, a history of the journal, list of editorial board members, subscription information, contents of back and forthcoming issues, and announcements of calls for papers, conferences, etc.

African-American Autobiography, Critical Issues in:

http://artsci.wustl.edu/~afas/fallcourse2000/L90300.htm

Detailed syllabus of course dealing with autobiographies by Douglass, Jacobs, Wright, Njeri, McBride, and Senna. Includes list of secondary sources and details of assignments. Maintained by Professor Itabari Njeri.

Autobiographical Criticism: A Bibliography:

http://www.middleenglish.org/autobiobib.htm

An extensive listing of critical articles, books, and websites. Compiled by Professor David Lavery.

Autobiographical Texts dealing with Mental Illness:

http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/SommerR/htmAuto.Annot.htm

Two lists of autobiographies written by current and former mental patients, an article explaining the compilers' classification system, and a form for submitting additional texts. Maintained by Professor Robert Sommer.

Bibliography of Autobiographical Criticism, including works on German writers and filmmakers:

http://www.msu.edu/~mittman/grm862b.bib/html

Maintained by Professor Elizabeth Mittman.

Biographical Research Center, University of Hawai'i, Manoa:

http://www.hawaii.edu/biograph

A guide to the Center's activities, including the publication of the journal biography. Useful links to other sites related to auto/biography.

Center Director: Professor Craig Howes.

Center for the Study of Lives, University of Southern Maine, Portland:

http://www.usm.maine.edu/~coe/csl/

A site devoted to life stories from the perspective of narrative psychology.

Center Director: Professor Robert Atkinson.

Hot List for American Autobiography:

http://www.homepages.dsu.edu/nelsonj/American.htm

Useful list of websites related to Franklin, Thoreau, Henry Adams, Black Elk, Hemingway, and Angelou. Maintained by Professor John S. Nelson.

Lifewriting Annual

http://www.amspressinc.com/lifewriting.html

The site of Lifewriting Annual which publishes articles and reviews on the full range of lifewriting: biography, autobiography, memoir, journals, diaries,and letters.

Editor: Dr. Thomas R. Smith.

North American Working Class Autobiographies:

http://www.steamiron.com/payday/autobio.html

A list of titles, authors, and publication information about works by United States and Canadian authors. Compiled by Cheryl Cline.

Resources for the Practice and Study of Autobiographical Writing:

http://artsci.wustl.edu/~rpope/Portal.htm

Includes a bibliography of autobiographical criticism, a syllabus for a course on European autobiography with many links, and a list of full-text autobiographies available on the web. Maintained by Professor Randolph D. Pope.