Center for Biographical Research and English Department will host the 6th Biennial International Auto/Biography Association Conference: Life Writing and Translations Conference

A number of Department of English faculty and students are organizing and will be presenting at the conference, which will be held at the East-West Center from June 23 to 26, 2008. This year’s theme is Life Writing and Translations—Linguistic, Generic, and Cultural.  Over two hundred scholars from around the world are scheduled to attend. The keynotes for the event will be Philippe Lejeune, Barbara Harlow, Alicia Partnoy, and Noenoe Silva; just a few of the other noted life writing scholars who will be attending include William Andrews, Bella Brodzki, John Eakin, Susanna Egan, Leigh Gilmore, Margaretta Jolly, Sidonie Smith, Julia Watson, Gillian Whitlock, and Zhao Baisheng.

Conference director is Craig Howes; Ph.D. candidate Maile Gresham is the Conference Co-Ordinator.  Other Center for Biographical Research and English Department people involved in the planning include Stan Schab, Miriam Fuchs, Cindy Franklin, Laura Lyons, and Cristina Bacchilega; many more will be presenting papers at the conference.

In addition to the daytime conference, two other events will be held in conjunction with the conference:

An Evening of Pacific Life Writing, Tuesday, June 24th

This free presentation open to the public will take place at Kennedy Theatre, and feature an evening of hula, oli, mele, theatre, poetry, autobiography, and biography that will display the range of ways that Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders have for centuries celebrated and commemorated lives. Featuring such artists, actors, and performers as Nyla Fujii Babb, Hālau Hula Ilima (Mapuana de Silva, Kumu Hula), Deborah and Chris Kelsey, Momi Kepilino, Victoria Nālani Kneubuhl, Kuu‘ipo Kumukahi, Annie Lokomaika‘i Lipscomb, Puakea Nogelmeier, Jon Osorio, Robert Sullivan, Kalena Silva, and Kameha‘ililani Waiau.

The Hawai‘i Conference on Personal History, Tuesday, July 1

Held in conjunction with Hamilton Library, University of Hawai‘i Mānoa, the Hawai‘i State Archives, and the Association of Hawaii Archivists, this one-day working conference will be held on Tuesday, July 1st, and will bring together librarians, museum curators, and archivists from the various Hawaiian islands to discuss collaborative efforts for educating and providing expert advice to Hawai‘i's people about the importance of preserving personal history — diaries, letters, photographs, videos, material culture. Philippe Lejeune will be serving as a keynote for this symposium/workshop, and Yvonne Murphy will be the evening speaker. Daytime attendance is restricted to Hawai‘i preservation professionals; Yvonne Murphy’s talk will be open to the public, as part of Outreach College’s Extraordinary Lecture series.