The multiplied author. Biographical texts and interpretative anthropology.

Abstract

The article explores multiplied authorship in biographical texts in light of interpretive anthropology. Originating from a lecture-seminar held at the École française in Rome in 1991, the text that has remained unpublished until now reflects on the evolution of Italian anthropology in dialogue with interpretive and postmodern trends. The article discusses the author's role in anthropological description through a critical analysis of Clifford Geertz's "dense description," proposing a redefinition and broadening of the interpretive approach by including a variety of often overlooked anthropological documents. In addition, examples of life stories written by non-anthropologists, such as the texts of Luigi Franci and Agostino Magni, are examined to highlight how these documents, reflecting on social reality from the standpoint of individual life pathways, produce new networks of discursivity and authorship. Finally, the article addresses the complexity and legitimacy of autobiographies as sources for anthropology, proposing new levels of interpretation and recognizing new forms of authority in texts produced within and outside the anthropological context.