Hugh Egan, Professor of English and Robert Ryan Professor of the Humanities, will be discussing his recent research on the life and writing of Frederick Douglass in a lecture entitled "Thrice-told tale: Frederick Douglass and the Art of Autobiography" this Wednesday, November 30, at 5:30 in Business 204.
Frederick Douglass’s 1845 autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself, has gained iconic status in American literature for its realistic depiction of chattel bondage, and for its moving combination of passion and restraint. This canonical text, however, was only the beginning of a self-revisionary mode that lasted through Douglass’s lifetime. Douglass re-wrote his autobiography twice (My Bondage and My Freedom [1855] and The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass [1881]), radically altering his literary style and even changing basic “facts” of his childhood and young manhood. Focusing upon the 1845 and 1855 versions of his life story, this talk will trace Douglass’s evolution as a thinker and writer over a crucial decade in the anti-slavery movement.
This event is sponsored by Sigma Tau Delta, the English Honor Society.
Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations should contact Christopher Matusiak at cmatusiak@ithaca.edu or (607) 274-7371. We ask that requests for accommodations be made as soon as possible.
https://www.ithaca.edu/intercom/article.php/20111128101320753