USING AUTOBIOGRAPHIES IN BUSINESS HISTORY: A NARRATOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF JULES JOUBERT'S SHAVINGS AND SCRAPES

USING AUTOBIOGRAPHIES IN BUSINESS HISTORY: A NARRATOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF JULES JOUBERT'S SHAVINGS AND SCRAPES

Entrepreneur autobiographies provide business historians with the opportunity to connect storytelling and identity, topics that are now prominent in economic debate. Yet lingering concern about the subjectivity of life writing prevents wider use of autobiographies within business history. This artic...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Australian economic history review 2010-11, Vol.50 (3), p.284-305
Main Author: Reveley, James
Format: Article
Language:eng
Subjects:
Australia: History
Autobiographies
Autobiography
B00
B49
Biography
British colonies
Business history
Colonial history
Economic history
Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurship
Identity
Joubert, Jules
Jules Joubert
L26
N01
N80
Narratology
Story telling
Studies
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Entrepreneur autobiographies provide business historians with the opportunity to connect storytelling and identity, topics that are now prominent in economic debate. Yet lingering concern about the subjectivity of life writing prevents wider use of autobiographies within business history. This article seeks to allay such concern by applying the narratological method to the colonial entrepreneur Jules Joubert's autobiography, Shavings and Scrapes. Joubert's narrative identity is as an ‘adventurer’. This identity shored up his self‐image and was used by him to enhance his reputation. Narratology shows that an autobiography can stabilise and publicise the colonial entrepreneur's narrative identity, thereby benefiting their business career.
ISSN:0004-8992
1467-8446