Privilege, Politics, and the Personal: Examining the Biographer’s Biases

• In Event: Exploring the Lives and Legacies of Community Activists and Agitators

Abstract

This paper will examine the life of a Salvadorean peace activist and the challenges encountered by her United States biographers, including the author, in recording and analyzing the subject’s experiences and accomplishments. The primary issue for analysis and discussion is the border crossing of the biographers whose acculturation is and has been one of privilege, is embedded in political ideologies as a result of their country of origin or developed through political identification, and/or through a personal relationship with the subject.

Author

• Cheryl T. Desmond, Millersville University of Pennsylvania