| Popis: |
The word 'biography' has had a great variety of meanings. In Great Britain, the first recorded use in print of the term 'biography' appears in the second half of the seventeenth century. Biographies and reflections on those biographies are inextricably linked to national cultural-historical debates and traditions. It is conspicuous that scholars regularly point to the absence of a biography culture in their own country. Simultaneously, their works point to the qualities that distinguish the biographical traditions of their own countries, though they do so often tentatively, based more on random observations than on empirical research into series of biographies. Recognizing and distinguishing in a comparative perspective from among the many biographical traditions in various language areas, regions and nations, which are in turn determined by topical, cultural and academic questions, constitutes one of the first agenda points for Biography Studies today. Keywords: biographical traditions; Biography Studies; cultural-historical debates; Great Britain; nations |
