This work explores the many uses of autobiography, from historical projects which are often about retrieval and reclamation of previously hidden or misrepresented texts, to the contemporary projects of claiming a voice, and the gathering of personal testimony for educational and ideological purposes.; The volume addresses uses such as life histories, adult learning and identity, exploring issues of race, class and gender within these contexts. Each contributor looks critically and politically at the ways in which we use and might use autobiography and reveals how autobiography is not just about a private life - it can tell us much about our social and political position.

This work explores the many uses of autobiography, from historical projects which are often about retrieval and reclamation of previously hidden or misrepresented texts, to the contemporary projects of claiming a voice, and the gathering of personal testimony for educational and ideological purposes.;The volume addresses uses such as life histories, adult learning and identity, exploring issues of race, class and gender within these contexts. Each contributor looks critically and politically at the ways in which we use and might use autobiography and reveals how autobiography is not just about a private life - it can tell us much about our social and political position.