Blog # 4

What is Stern's methodology? What skills does she use? How do the limitations of autobiography identified by Evans apply to Stern's essay?



     Stern's essay creates great emotion in the reader. It is like watching a horror movie. Step by step I read through with a great sympathy for her, yet I wanted to skip some parts because they were very difficult to read. In the beginning of Stern's story, she mentioned "terrorism" and I felt discouraged to continue to read, because it reminded me of that horrible date of our history 9/11. An author, I believe she is still recovering today, because she is not stopping her research on terrorism, in order to answer the question: What makes men angry? Jessica Stern is a strong, powerful woman. Many people like her will become silent, at least will say something about it, but will not do the research as Jessica Stern has done.
     Stern's method is autobiography. Despite the denial in the past of others (e.g. police, hospital) she decided to share her story as a victim of rape with her readers.
     According to Mary Evans "Auto/biography as a Research Method", "The individual who are the subject of auto/biography live in the same way as the researher, within a world where the boundaries of the public and the private are increasingly fluid. Moreover, those boundaries are often re-written by the subjects of auto/biography themselves..." This statement seems applies to Stern's story. Also there are three limitations of autobiography: 1. Partiality and exclusion in an account of a life; 2. The often uneasy relationship between the contextin which an auto/biography is written and the emphasis in interpretation and range of material; 3. The 3rd flaw of it focuses on one individual. This limitations apply to the stiry in a partial way. Jessica Sterns puts her story within a broader context, which is her study of terrorism.

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