The Artists, Scholars, & Innovators Lecture Series, hosted by the Center for Teaching and Learning, is presented by award-winning faculty with artistic, scholarly, or innovative achievements. Please see below for information about upcoming presentations.
Spring 2024 Lecture
On the Art of Confessional Writing in the Age of Oversharing
Presented by
Dr. Rachael Peckham
Professor in the Department of English, College of Liberal Arts
2022-2023 Hedrick Outstanding Faculty Award Recipient
March 28, 2024 | 2-3 pm | Drinko Library 402*
*Attend virtually via Teams: Click here to join the meeting
Abstract:
While the history of literary confession reaches as far back as Augustine—and much later, to Montaigne, Rosseau, De Quincey, etc.—the trend toward popular confession in memoir and in American media at large might give one the impression that the confessional mode is a relatively new cultural phenomenon, one that’s been readily maligned in recent decades with trends in social media, where the tendency to overshare appears in tension with a secondary response: too much information (T.M.I.). Whether the impulse to publicly confess is met with applause or backlash, the confessional mode continues to elicit a strong response—as it has historically for women writers—and presents unique challenges for the writing and teaching of memoir, the personal essay, and other intimate forms of creative nonfiction.
This presentation considers both the tradition and more recent trends of confessional writing in creative nonfiction and examines its political implications. What does it mean to confess? Whose work is deemed confessional? And how do we practice and teach the confessional mode as a process of honest self-examination that resonates with readers in a relatable and meaningful way?
If you have questions about ASI lectures, please email ctl@marshall.edu.