Brown Bag with Robert Fraser

Enlarge image

A papyrus of c.1275 BCE from the Egyptian Book of the Dead depicts Thoth, scribe to the gods, writing down the details of a deceased man’s life while his heart is weighed against a feather. This is one of the earliest known images of life-writing. So, how integral is moral judgement to the art of biography? If it is, who is to be the judge: the biographer, the subject, the reader, God? An alternative view might be that judgment has no place in biography, which should be value-free. I shall supply several examples across the centuries before asking my audience, readers and/or writers alike, for their opinions.

Event Sponsor
Center for Biographical Research, Mānoa Campus

More Information
Laura M. Dunn, 808-956-3774, biograph@hawaii.edu

Tweet