Biographical Note
Her research project focuses on self-narration produced through memoir/autobiography writing and publishing, or, framed in a question-led style, how people learn to weave their lived experiences and memories into a narrative sequence we call the self – a concept as fuzzy, inclusive, and real as “the society”.
The project incorporates qualitative text analysis of historical autobiographical corpora with multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork. In settings ranging from prestigious MFA nonfiction classes to public library workshops, Dian does participant observation, and talks to memoirists, memoir instructors, agents, and editors to understand what people within and beyond the industry imagine the legitimate, authentic, and marketable self of our time looks like.
Dian is co-organizer (with Amy Weissenbach) of the Narrative Workshop at Incite. She holds a BA in Social Sciences from the Humboldt University of Berlin.