A Polymathic Approach to Writing Biography

Mar 9 2011
When: 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
Where: Intellectual Commons, DML 2nd floor, room 233
Event Type: Special Events and Series

Event Details

A conversation with Lois Banner, professor of history and gender studies.

Speaker Information

Speaker

Lois Banner

Lois Banner is professor of history & gender studies. From her early work as an organizer of the first Berkshire Conference on Women's History, Banner has blended feminist activism and scholarship. Professor Banner is the author of ten books, including her acclaimed American Beauty (1983), the first in a three-volume series on image and beauty. Her latest biography, volume III in the trilogy, Marilyn: The Passion and the Paradox, sees Monroe as a powerful cultural icon of physical beauty, sexuality, and the quintessential American dream whose impact on the feminine ideal is as relevant today as when she graced the silver screen in the mid-20th century. Other works include In Full Flower: Aging Women, Power and Sexuality (1992), and the prize-winning Intertwined Lives: Margaret Mead, Ruth Benedict, and Their Circle (2003). Banner is a master at biography where she applies integrated-interdisciplinary approaches in her excavation of her subjects. Women's history requires innovative readings of sources and the skillful application of theory and Banner has been at the forefront of these developments.