Med livet som insats: Biografin som humanistisk genre

This book discusses the theories, methods and perspectives of the scholarly biography. The point of departure is the continuously growing interest in biography as a genre over the last decade in history, literature and other fields of the humanities.

In the first section of the anthology, “The Biographical Genre”, three articles highlight general tendencies and problems in biography writing. Adopting a historical perspective, the contributors discuss the relationship between various cultural and intellectual currents and changing practices and standings in the writing of biographies.

“The Biographical Gaze”, the second part of the book, is directed towards opportunities for and challenges to biography within four academic fields: history, literature, the history of ideas and archaeology. By focusing on the traditions of particular disciplines, the authors draw attention both to peculiarities in their own scholarly field and more wide-ranging issues in the writing of biographies.

The third part, “The Biographical Dialogue”, is dedicated to the interaction between the biographer and the object of the biography. The shifting feelings of frustration and pleasure in the encounter with another human being are a frequent theme in these articles, and also discussed are the need for ethical reflection, critical distance and power of insight.

The fourth and final section presents an overview of important biographies and scholarly biographical research.

The contributors to the anthology include: Yvonne Hirdman, Alf W Johansson, Kristina Josefson, Martin Kylhammar, Lisbeth Larsson, Ingmar Lundkvist, Birgitte Possing, Henrik Rosengren, Johan Svedjedal, Eva Helen Ulvros, Christina Carlsson Wetterberg and Johan Östling.