Abstract
In the college classroom, biofiction has a powerful impact on students, oftentimes motivating them to go above and beyond the assignment. Given its uncanny power, Michael Lackey wondered if students could make significant contributions to biofiction studies by interviewing authors of specific novels. As he discovered, the answer is yes. In this introduction, he describes how he came upon the idea of mentoring undergraduates in the art of interviewing authors of biofiction, and clarifies how he prepared students to conduct public interviews of authors at both the University of Minnesota Morris and Georgia College.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 441-450 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | a/b: Auto/Biography Studies |
| Volume | 36 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:I would like to thank the University of Minnesota Morris for supporting my teaching of biofiction. I would also like to thank the Mellon Foundation, which made the interview with David Ebershoff possible. To Georgia College I am grateful for bringing me to its campus as the Martha Daniel Newell Visiting Scholar. That appointment enabled me to teach my Social Justice Biofiction course and to have my students conduct a public interview with Joanna Scott. Finally, I would like to thank my students at the University of Minnesota Morris and Georgia College for inspiring me with their passion, commitment, and intelligence.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Autobiography Society.
Keywords
- biofiction
- innovative pedagogy
- the art of interviewing
- undergraduate research