Life Writing

Scope & Guideline

Navigating the Intersection of Life and Literature

Introduction

Welcome to the Life Writing information hub, where our guidelines provide a wealth of knowledge about the journal’s focus and academic contributions. This page includes an extensive look at the aims and scope of Life Writing, highlighting trending and emerging areas of study. We also examine declining topics to offer insight into academic interest shifts. Our curated list of highly cited topics and recent publications is part of our effort to guide scholars, using these guidelines to stay ahead in their research endeavors.
LanguageEnglish
ISSN1448-4528
PublisherROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
Support Open AccessNo
CountryUnited Kingdom
TypeJournal
Convergefrom 2004 to 2024
AbbreviationLIFE WRIT / Life Writ.
Frequency4 issues/year
Time To First Decision-
Time To Acceptance-
Acceptance Rate-
Home Page-
Address2-4 PARK SQUARE, MILTON PARK, ABINGDON OX14 4RN, OXON, ENGLAND

Aims and Scopes

The journal 'Life Writing' is dedicated to exploring the multifaceted nature of life writing in various forms, encompassing autobiographical narratives, memoirs, biographies, and autofiction. It emphasizes the interplay between personal experience and broader cultural, historical, and social contexts.
  1. Exploration of Life Narratives:
    The journal focuses on the diverse formats and genres of life writing, including autobiographies, memoirs, and biographies, examining their narrative structures and thematic content.
  2. Interdisciplinary Approaches:
    It adopts interdisciplinary methodologies, integrating literary analysis, cultural studies, psychology, and sociology to provide a comprehensive understanding of life writing.
  3. Critical Engagement with Identity:
    A core area of interest is the examination of identity formation in life writing, particularly how authors negotiate their identities through narrative.
  4. Ethics and Responsibility in Life Writing:
    The journal engages with the ethical implications of life writing, addressing issues of representation, authenticity, and the responsibilities of writers towards their subjects.
  5. Technological Influence on Life Writing:
    It investigates the impact of technology on life writing practices, including digital memoirs, social media narratives, and the evolving nature of autobiographical storytelling.
The journal 'Life Writing' has identified and embraced various emerging themes that reflect contemporary concerns and innovative approaches to life writing. These trends indicate a vibrant evolution in the field.
  1. Autofiction and Subjectivity:
    Recent publications have increasingly focused on autofiction as a genre, highlighting its role in negotiating personal and collective subjectivities, and its blurring of boundaries between fiction and autobiography.
  2. Digital Life Writing:
    There is a significant rise in works examining digital life writing, including social media narratives, vlogs, and blogs, showcasing how technology reshapes autobiographical practices and audience engagement.
  3. Intersectionality and Diverse Voices:
    The journal has seen a growing trend towards intersectional analyses in life writing, emphasizing the importance of diverse voices, particularly from marginalized communities, and how these narratives challenge dominant historical accounts.
  4. Memory and Trauma:
    Themes exploring the interplay between memory and trauma are increasingly prevalent, with a focus on how life writing serves as a means of processing personal and collective traumas.
  5. Narrative and Ethics:
    Emerging discussions around the ethics of life writing are gaining traction, particularly in relation to the responsibilities of authors in representing lived experiences and the implications of their narratives.

Declining or Waning

While 'Life Writing' has consistently explored a range of themes, certain areas appear to be losing prominence in recent publications. This decline may reflect shifts in scholarly focus or changing cultural contexts.
  1. Traditional Biographical Approaches:
    There seems to be a waning interest in conventional biographical narratives that strictly adhere to chronological formats, as the journal increasingly favors experimental and non-linear storytelling.
  2. Focus on Historical Figures:
    The emphasis on life writing about historical figures appears to be decreasing, with more recent issues prioritizing contemporary narratives and personal experiences over biographical accounts of the past.
  3. Static Gender Perspectives:
    The exploration of gender in life writing, while still significant, shows signs of becoming less dynamic, as newer works tend to engage more with intersectionality and diverse identities rather than traditional gender roles.

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