Am “I” the One? Self-Narratives Between Autotheory, Crying Selfies, and Confessionals
Alicia Agustín & Tereza Yakovyna Franca Zajac & Paula Regine Erb
Art in Context & Dramatic Writing

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About
The seminar “Am I The One” invites participants to engage critically with autofictional forms of writing and other auto-narrative methods in contemporary culture. Topics covered include social media confessionals, novels, contemporary drama, and essays. What political and historical conditions contribute to the formation of the modern “self,” which can be both the subject and object of a narrative? How does this “I” express itself? We are particularly interested in the historical development of the role and romanticization of the individual subject, one who reflects on and narrates their own life, weaves themselves into theoretical contexts, and conveys their own emotions to the outside world. The theoretical section focuses on the historical development of the individual and collective subject, authenticity, and forms of autobiographical storytelling. On the one hand, this development is cause for celebration: narratives that were previously swallowed up by existing canons are now being brought to light. Through processes of identification and immersion in intimate spaces, the possibility of self-empowerment emerges. On the other hand, the question arises as to what the shift from class to identity, and further, from collective to individual identity, means for society. What role does narration play in shaping and stabilizing this identity? How should we interpret the trend toward authenticity as the new currency of the attention economy? How is subjectivity performed under the conditions of digital capitalism? Are authors and artists under increasing pressure to be constantly understandable and perpetually present? Furthermore, we are interested in various artistic practices and historical forms of self-reference: Victorian introspection differs fundamentally from Samuel Beckett’s *Not I* or the “main character vs. non-player character” logic currently circulating in the media. When and how does the process of storytelling lead to a deconstruction of the self? When and how is the self thereby materialized in the first place? How does language use change? And what possibilities do artistic practices offer for rethinking these forms of narration? In writing workshops and performance workshops, students develop their own texts using methods of dramatic writing and performative practice. The seminar concludes with a performance/reading/show.

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