International Auto/Biography Association
The International Auto/Biography Association (IABA) is an international group of academics from a range of disciplines who investigate a variety of practices and texts broadly defined as "life writing" or "life narrative." [1]
Introduction
The IABA was formed in 1999 by Zhao Baisheng, the current Chair of the Institute of World Literature and Secretary General for the Cross-Cultural Studies at the University of Peking.
It aims to "broaden the world vision of auto/biographers, scholars and readers and to enhance and widen cross-cultural understandings of self, identity and experience."[2]
The association holds a biennial conference at various universities across the globe. To date the conference has been held in Beijing, Vancouver, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Mainz, Hawaii, East Sussex, and Canberra. IABA 2014: Auto/Biography in Transit will be held in Banff.[3]
The theme of each conference varies from topics such as Auto/Biography and Mediation at Mainz in 2006 to Life Writing and the Generations at Melbourne in 2002. Other topics have included Inhabiting Multiple Worlds: Auto/Biography in an Anti/Global Age (from Hong Kong, 2004) and Autobiography and Changing Identities (Vancouver, 2000).
Reports are published after each conference and the main themes and issues discussed are noted [4]
The IABA also publishes a newsletter containing information on latest publications and programs. Also published is a listserv containing a variety of information such as postings on new conferences, call for publications and critical and theoretical issues.
Members
The IABA committee is a group of academics from across the world, and is responsible for the organisation and publication of material from the conferences.
The committee consists of Susanna Egan (University of British Columbia), Richard Freadman (Lingnan University, Hong Kong), Alfred Hornung (University of Mainz, Germany), Craig Howes (University of Hawaii at Manoa), Margaretta Jolly (Centre for Life History and Life Writing Research, University of Sussex, England), David Parker (Chinese University of Hong Kong), Thomas R Smith (Penn State Abington, USA) and Zhao Baisheng (Peking University).
Affiliates
The IABA is affiliated with a number of organisations from around the world, including various University Departments coordinated by IABA members such as Margaretta Jolly's Centre for Life History and Life Writing Research and Richard Freadman's, Unit for Studies in Biography and Autobiography.
Publications
The IABA has been responsible for a number of published works such as Zhao Baisheng's Approaching the Auto/Biographical Turn and David Parker's Inhabiting Multiple Worlds: Auto/Biography in an (Anti-) Global Age.