Quinney, R. (195). A sens bie: Vina 0 olony as a fine are Vial Sociology 10412), 61-84. Rieger J (1996). Photographing cial change “sta Sociol, 111), 549. Smith, E, & Smut, A (1979) Minamata [New York: Holy, Rinehare& Winston. Saydes, RL. (1958). ire Lorene and the doc ‘mentary fm. Noraan: Ollshoma Univer ry Pres, Spence, | (1988). Batng myself the picture 4 politcal, personal ad photogrepbcouto- bognepy. Seste: Rea! Comet 738 @ METHODS OF COLLECTING AND ANALYZING EMPIRICAL MATE Seige, R. (1995). Fie chldeen and family namics. Vis Sacology,10(1-2), 2643, Sucker, C, (1997), Grounding vistal socio reseatchinshooing cits Qualitative ology, 20,335. 7 “Tagg, J (1988). The burden of represen ‘Ezy on photepephics and bso sole, Empatire Engl: Maclay sander Dos, 5, Goosbens,L, Lerng, Mo van Mieto, M, (1992). Reading image, srudy ofa Dutch neighborhood. Vou Sac ology, 71), 488 Overview: Extending the E Handbook Genre fi, glad it's you," | say, relieved to hear Arts Secon hob edf he e ou vund wpe Whe he maser At Fain on isbn 00 int of clog Blanc clove fl ue tage of Eos ope Se ate an fn eine cafe sonees ome Pabopeds Fh eng cs pps and sn in see F pies bar hver gover hem yo ows Biccertingsthome? hehe dps ay” - Worman Denis an Yoouna Linea ousand Oaks) ie Pubs, 2000 and boon vs ua Tiahve Research Send ELAR a edider Calif “They ine,” Ar replies qc “but Int ot Cred working on our chaper for the Handbook of Qualitative Research. The more | ‘ink abou he more Frsested I become.” thought you ely waaced te do this swell the fet edition of the Handbook idee safficienly highlight auroethnography find personal narrative. SoU inially though t ‘would be goad opportunity te show how im: Porn itso make the researcher's own expe ence stopcofinvesigatoninits ow igh." "Wel e oming 9 iphemow ro do thas” 1 respond, “When he ircediion was published lorof academies were ryingto figure ot howto lait thie way oat ofthe cri of cepreventa: ion, but there weren't enany exarples of a ‘AITHORS NOTE: Thanet our rade det at Ue of Sout Fl ano Mich len, Norman Dein, Rotana Her, Yours inet, Lr! Richoron, a Willa Tetney fo ectapet sans Cusp la pve tar porn of ths ale aheynote seem ot The ermaton| rane ‘slave Methods Coneene helm Edmonton, Alber, Cena Feboty 1999, on pushed Quai the Hels Rech Nol Bota ScSemeraber 19%, p66?) "Hee notoogehy™734 @ METHODS OF COLLECTING AND ANALYZING EMPIRICAL MATERIALS| Autoethnography, Personal Narrative, Reflesvity. @ thote who made themelves and thei personal experience a ceneal focus of thee research ‘Over the pat 5 year, however, the’ changed signiicarly, what with the begining of the Ethnographic Alternatives erie, Del's em pass om personal writing in Interpretive Eth- ogreply, Behar's The Vulnerable Observer.” “Granted there's been 4 wave of neces roce peronal eat, ad embodied wt ing” Ac asserts. "So whar’s the problem?” HO think we've underetinsted the con: sersins imposed by the gene ofthe handbook chapter a8 form of writing." Ateontines ap parently deep hough “Bat you've writen many handbook chap tertbefore* {point out. “Why ies diferent” "Because those chapters conformed co the conventions ofthe handbook gence, They were ‘emzys not orien But in this piece we want 19 ‘ows, not st tellabout ascoethnography. Look 2 any bandbook on your shelf and what youl find is char most chapters are einen in third-person, pase voce f'sasifthey re wi ten fom nowhere by nobody. The conventions trae agsine pertonal and parsons wring. ‘The books ae filed withdy, dian bat, propositions essay.” “That's ealled academic writing, dling.” ‘When Are does'augh concave amore e- tious tone, "But some ofthe authors in che fst tdionof the Hondbook of Qualitative Research wrote in rt person” “Ye, br he sally appeared afer he ineoduction and then seppeated abruptly in the conclusion,” Arphic. “And the sully was and an arbi sou we! at htt which sometines elered 1 the authors a wrices of the chprers and rome ‘imesincluded allo, whoever we mighebe,"T add. “And the authors slmost acer became chat- seri the more they weote..” “They couldn',*Tinerrept, now immersed in the conersaton, "heease their chapters erent really stores. They incladed ile in che nay of dialogue, dramatic reson, oF pltine, for that mater” labotateonthe chpte. “Tey provide ciation, A and souees, sense of history, 2nd argumena others can use as jusifistions for their own work” “I don't question that they serve a impor. tan purpose Hundreds of stents have ben SA Inspired to do qualitative esearch bythe fir ction of the Handbook of Qualitative Re search, for example” “Tiare, and we caeeiicie handbook rites fr filing to do whac they're not ake, todo “Bue we an ask why authors aren encoue aged to write academic tiles Io the fet pee 2 ton," Are retorts, "Why should we take i for parted that am author's personal felings and thoughts shouldbe omied in ahandbol chap tee feral whoisthepesoncolletng theer- idence, drawingtheinfernces,andreachingthe conclsions) By not ining om some ort of personal accountability, out academic pubis tions reinforce the third-person passive voice st the standard, which gies mote weight to ab ntact and categorical knowledge than the d tee wtimony of personal narsive and the fies-personvoiee It does’t even oceurto most authors tha wring inthe fest person sa op tion. They've been shaped by the prevaing ots of scholarly discourse within which they ‘operate, Once the anonymous estay became the ota then the personal, autobiographical sory became a delinquent frm of expression.” ‘Jaatas I'm beginning to doubt that we ean do this project, Aesays, “This morning wrote out some of my conceens in conventional soils ‘hoe pre, Maybe this wil give us place 10 sot, you havea minted like ro read itt you" Relieved, Isa, Sure, go abea."I glanceto swardthelarge eackof teem papers. They lave Are read Like most sci centsts educated in the 1960rond 1970s ecilzed into the egacy of empincion. 1 developed a appetite for generalizable abstractions ond wnified knowl edge The first soa science bardbooks were Jbished when Iss graduate seboo, ond they fed hes ger for eried knledge. My B prletors pressed the point thar cient Freoledge i ennai aes linear 10 evry nce inawhilescholaehaveto sepa ads Beste stat ofthe field Ironcli. these ses ments somelimet were refered to a State-of thor” eta an art that eas 2p posediy science), That's what a handbook id ~it gave an objective, neutral radon thee ‘dence, The authors ee the expert, bt they terote asf they seereanonyrmont Beese st fies mportant who gathered theeidence ot Ino ded and weighed i, andBook writers followed the convents of weg a parce toice thet erate eujectaty and personal a countably “After earned my Th. | became sere ingly crcumspect about the posites and limitations of the Seman scence It the mil 1970%, one of my collegues, who war teaching a raduate seminar on “the tte of tetences nugget st Fad the grove i tnetureon hci comfdence social fence. 1 began by reading Kul (1962), who ‘howe thatthe buding-block model of sience lucked foundations; then Rorty (1982 ‘Tonlin (1969) endothe philosophers sho Iusirated hve te "Jats sees ee arene tncably connected othe vocabulary the se 0 express or teprerent them; Lyotard (1988) de Irunked the Deli a ified tality of kvl ‘edge, questioning whether master narratives secre either posnble or desineble: postsixc Iunalit ad deconeractonint wares, such Barthes (1972), Dernda (1978, 1981), and Foncants (1970), ffeteely olterted the readerit conception of the anthor, altering low we undertand the connections mane tho tent ad readers under he influence of Baki (1981), te interpretive space avilable to theeader sae broadened. enonnaging mili fle perpecties, wnsttled meanings, pal boicen and local and llritimate bxoledges that tvameress apse the clas of unitary boy of theory feminist crcl hora such Clough (1994), Herding (1991), Hartsock (1983), and Smith (1990, 1992) promoted the nique and verginalied standpoints al pic lanier of women: and. sandpormt bound frverning textatsts eich a Teh (1983 1992), Anealdia (1987) nd Bebo (1993, 1920) opened our eyesanderito the necenity of expe Ing hte the comptes contingencies of 2. cs sexy, diab, and ethmcty ae woven to the fabric of concrete, personal lived experiences championing the cate of relive, experiment, Sutobigraphica, and wnerable tet. Inthe wae of there developments, P dour tubeter a hendbok chapter ca help guide the teork of there who have turned torard Ioethnogrphy and pernal native of bokd tobe vice and who of fm af wn tat thi our seketotrangrts How help toon i be to Ut eference, define terms, ab tract rom andertagns exemplars formulate teva for elution, or heise the perspective of the “he 39 readers cam make ou browledge then? No ened form hat willow readers to feel the moral dilemmas, shirk with ove sory instead of about tn actively the deio Dome that define am sutoetbnographc prec. tnd consider ats their oon Berean be made ory worth tling “When Ar stops ceoding, sy, “Well hae’. clever Alhough you sareed eth the“ you (ikl ell iro sing the handbook were oa fue aginst wing inthe handbook gence.” vt stop laughing, “Reminds me of how so ‘many of our texte argue in postnodeen sbstesct fargom for gear acevibiry nd expetimenal forms” "Seehow powelulthe conventions ae?” Art agrees, now chucking a well. Then he adds tote seriond “Lets ost waite to Norman and ‘Yeonna and bow out. Think ofthe dene we could spendon the beach nsesd. Get ome inedite fratifieation fora change.” “ics tempting, especially given how we've ben fling ately that ov Me st domined by ove workbut ao way Not alter Pe aleay sponized over writing the section on ‘what it atoehnography?” You know how 1 est dois {his kindof writng. Ache soe ine, Hknow is Insportan." reps hear ancck st mr doo736 ¢ METHODS OF COLLECTING AND ANALYZING EMPIRICAL MATERIALS “I don’ think 1 be sas, nor will you, soles we find way to ransgrest the conven. tions. What if we were t cea a sory that world work wihin the hasdbook genre but also ouside i showing what we do ae we tll, aboot it? That could be fa,” Art sugges pay fall “How deligfulyparadorica” 1 add ino sischivous tone. "Bat we'd hae o be cateful not to give the impesion shat wee being coppesitional and advocating that evergone shoold wet the way we do," warm, expresing something we hea fen and ty haré wo dispel ‘Then I get back into the iony of Ars idea, Won't our ees love you know the ones who sleeady stews us of being iteverent, selfabrotbed sentimental and romantic?” Before Aran answer vehi [have ogo “*Someooe'satthe door. Bye—Comein"Taayin ‘one beat, in esponse tthe third knock. + Introduction to Autozthnography ‘A woman ia er mid-A0s opens the door and hesitates in the enryway. A largebrimmed, Aoppy saw hat covered with purple bangles hide he face, A marching scarf hangs loosely round her neck “Profesoe Els?" nod. “My name is Sylvia Smith ona PRD. seadent in the Peychology Department. planning todo ny isersion on bream cant, and your name wat given to measa social scien inerered in research on ills. dike you tobe on my i> seraion commivee. Three members of my comminee ar from the Pychology Department and the foorth ia research onesogit” “Hold i” Ty, my hands extended in fone cof meto slow down her monologue, “Back up, Have seat sed ler tlk about you projec.” Sylvia comoves her seat and har with ‘sneering etseros motion of both hands and continoes speaking rapidly before. “Uwant to inrervcw brea cancer scvvors to wnder- stand how theyre adjusting afer cance. Thope to combine quatarive and quantitative ap- proaches. Send out 2 survey and shall lncervew ...ohy maybe 30 women and inch ‘AMican Americans and lesbians, older and young women, professional and working cas women. That way Lean generalize.” "How'd yougevinerstedin this topic?" Lind cerrape 3 “el uh she sys, now slowing down and looking st me quia, Te had brea ca 2x” Then, going back ther rapide, assem tive spe, "Bar won't et cha bse ny research ‘You can coont.on that.” “Of courte you wil" It, nd she immed «rely asumes downcast, defeated posture, be fore Ta, "er you should” "Whar do you mean?” she asks, looking srightarme wih penewatng eyes "Tehough ‘bad to ep my perional experience out of my esearch IE wane my sry tobe valid Lean smencon omy paricpants thet had cance, ent “Hold that question,” Fay agsn, and move my chair doser tober, “Would yoube wile tellmealicle abou your brat cancer fs? I Ielp me understand more about your academic imerest inthe rope Are you oa aking about your own experience?” “Ofcourse, she tesponds, “ba ida’ tchink anybody atthe university would beintreted in ry personal experience.” She breathes deeply and slowly begins her tory abou he lp she covered 7 years before, het mastecomy, and follow-up chemotherapy. Ths, “And i's had 3 big impact on my family, especialy ny reaton- ship wih my daughter, and how I see my- lf she ays, her ice eng oft “How hat impacted your elaionship with your drugheer” Task quiet. “She has ro worry about geting cance 38 well now You know, the genetic ky and we sem to have trouble ealkng openly abou the fiks and about oar felings.” Sylvia conminues totale sbout her davghrer and afer awhile ask “Aad your slimage?™ “Lcould write a book stone chy” she shokingherhead backand forth, “Youknow lt atherapis. [hough could deal with ial. Bt esha fellikea whole person tdon'tmean because Ios brent, Good riddance, say to Autoethnography, Perronal Narrative, Reflexvity 737 that, They were aba 00 big anos. had breast reduction on the other one when {had reconsroetion Hust. well ny life bas changed so drastically, excep he day-ro-day, swell serually that's ot al the diferent." ‘She becomes animated at she tells er soy. Sensing that she i comforabe and deses ro leep going, I continse asking querions. Het sony ingpltesthovghes shout mysel. How would I fel i hi abreast semoved? As she {alka Iglance a he small ress, then casually lide my hands across my own large ones 1 ‘ant imagine tei not beng there. Would’ feel incomplete, devexualized? Did she really feel “good riddence™ or is tha a cover? ‘And the hai” Thea ee say through my hoghes “Just look at my fax. never realy tree back ike before. Shaving it was he most Alificale yet enkilartig thing I've evr done.” “The thin inchlong brown and gray sands dont move ashe ctull tosses he ead from fide to side My fingers reach for my finetex: tured, shoulder length brown bait fel n= ed withooci Leven esis pling my airbace from my face. wonder why she cus hers so shore now; she's drawing statin hav ing had cancer Bot what about the hat and scat? Does the ate ther in ese she wants 0 “pate? I wonder Sylvia and Lace about the same age. This couldhappencome No icoulda't I getancn: ual mammogri. me Pd had 4 mammogram jas 2 few month before [found the lamp," her voice in- ‘rads inco my thoughts. ‘But doseltexaminatons every mom la ve back fom inside my head "found it daring my monthly selexam.” she continues shaking the fale predictability of ny world. fine intend, understanding cha Sylvia has aloe teach me. “Anyway Um intereted in other women's experience” she sys, adding hei "yo know how ie compare to mine. Tha’ not something Cre admited before, che personal par, Les T nod, Whar dof do now? I don't wane ro wean another sade off te ence model and eal with & tience-oriented comer, And 1m waty of sein involved in another study thas eimpliien, categories, sees and dices the ines proces Bat pv isa therapist and forthe coming about et elingrand what happened to het Maybe her ray could explore the feelings sociated with breast eaneer and be usefol for ‘ther women, The pain on Sylvia's face, i spite ofthe eaualnes of her words, alo makes me think that this ay might be a sseal explore ‘on for her. And know itcouldbe valableex- petience for me at well But what am geting “Do you have any idea what do?” I ask ‘Jusctha you dy illes and do qualative work: Nobody dost qualitative research in my Ueparement, But veraken aqualiative course in cvcation and Uhin I could get my comminee to accep grounded theory fr my dsseration re search” “don't ase grounded theory snch any- more Ty. “Mom of what 1 do is auroethnoge raphy What's thad™ she ass, writing the word ewoethnogrephy on hee notepad 2 she looks at “1 ar with my personal life. pay azenton omy physi flings, hough, and enetions. se whar [ell ytemaric sociological itrospec- fon andemosondl recall tory to understand an experience Pve lived shrough, Then I write my cnperience asa or By exploring a parieaar life, Uhope to sndertand 2 way of lie, as Reed-Danahay 393" “Who?” she ask, pen poised inthe ic Reed Danahay, an anthropologist who rates book on aurothngrsphy™ “Hove dot gets copy?” "Don't wocy about chatyet Theres pleney of time vo read abou asoethoography I want you tevexpeenceatoethoography Bis” Tignote Syria’ confined look, 25 1 dig through my Bile abet. "Soi understand you cenretly the galistoue your life experience 9 eneraize oa lager group ot culture,” Sylvia peaks tomy back “Yer butha'sntallThe goa isalotoenter and documentthe momenc-o-moment, concrete ‘deals of hie Thats an important way of knowing aswel738 METHODS OF COLLECTING AND ANALYZING EMPIRICAL MATERIALS” “So, yo wi shoo you ie? That dest sound too difcle,” yi ay extualy. Uruen around stare at er for 2 moment, 3 ‘hough gers signasr0 whether Lahoud pro- mote autoehrograpyt0 Siva. When nosign is forthcoming, Tay, “Oh, i's amazingly dill ce rs ceriny noe something that most peo plecandovell Morsncal remiss donne well enough ro carry it off Or theyre ne el ently introspecsive about thei fens or io: tives, or the contains they expetec, Ironically many arent abservan enough ofthe sword around them. The sell quetoning so cihnography demnds is extremely ificl.So iscontomting things about youre that are es than facerng. Believe me, hones autoethn- ‘raph exploration generates alot of fears and oubes—and emotions! pain, jas when you think you cant sand the pin antmore, well, ‘hats when the real work hs ony begun. Then there's the vanerabilty of reveling yourel, not being able oeke bck what you ve weiten lorhaingany contol over how readersinerpet le leshardmott fel your life irbeingcitigued aswell as your wotk lecan be hurting. And the eel sue," Tara, "pt wai un you're wong aboot family members and loved ones rho ate par of your sory” Sys holds 0 eo etch, her eyes wide smile and le out the breath Pve been bold "en sorey. tet ely passionate about li” Tay mote geal. “Ofcourse there are rewards toomfor example, you come 10 understand outset in deeper wars. And with ondettand ing yourself comes endertanding. oshers Astoethnography provider avenve for doing Something meaning for yourself and the world. Ah, here they ae." Lineerpe eal at pull wo stapled papers frm my suroethnog: raphy file, “The one on top is"Suevivers, ps per wrote about my brother's death The other ‘one's a chaper from Butler and Rosenblum’ ook Cancer i Tioo Vos, 2 co-contrted racracve sboura women with beast cancer ad het ebiem Lover wi take ere of her” “Co-conerocted?™ ‘We'l eal about ha ler. For a0; jos se how sourespond to tese ores. think tha ter you've teed them, what ve bee saying wil becleser you're sl interned the. lene me note al mil yn some other materi, ‘One more thing.” add psn thes lab on my deke “PIL wat to mest een and yon have to read the assgnmens from ey clases on ills nareatver and “concn ing ermtion. Alo, Fait yn to ese with An Bochner, x coauthor, who teaches ourtes on -atative and, by the wa, lio happens tobe ry husband" Herdown-raned auoath chengestoa ile fr abril momenta tad, "These ae ‘nim requrerent ta going £9 be on your committer” “Ob, my. don’ know if have cine, given my program," shessys."suliavetotake Tess ane Measterene and Advanced Experentl Research Design I hope to finish my conte ‘work daring hi coming fl, and hen ake my prclinsin erp speing and Finish my proposal by the beinning of nexe summer” Trg ny shoulders {fn al pee doe My exuberance, the warnings, ll she Aquirerents—any ofthese could see her of (Oh, well bterifihappens vow tha ater Su pecting shi wil be he ast Ice of her, am glad Ie given her an eae way out Syvi winds her searfaround her nec, throws her hal wit ‘he papers ve given bec into her large opens says good-bye and quickly cui from view "Bo day Loerie at school sd ind 3 faxed mesiage from Ss 5 ew rej E 4S “Tasiseomeoftherest pel ating oe 1 eerie wth your pre ove ee Yon brother so nsdey. You remodel me of ew fle fund at ad one So a Bur ond Roel I eal xperon o! Eedsfeurmat conf and tongs This work voles ert Pe been tnt A stent soil scence rear, bat Tf 1 tated ond san 1 howe mre. Wl yo ar "Tome mater hep cay the ores td | passer of sutrimeeaphy! Maybe some Titi ew ce | sweat it. do you mind Ilading oe more 1 oetingenbs! 1 smile and pull ou arcs from my ssoethnogsaphy file. Jogo, Kiesinger, Kole Autoethnography, Personal Narrative, Reflexvity @ “29 Ronsi, Tilnann-Hesly—ehat ought 10 do Fosn a ettion on desig aoetnography Five jst writen a pate of 3 caper for Dens and Lincoln's second edigon fd Hadivok of Qualitative Recoch. [ps ead the dial which i ciled “What Is Uaoethoonsapi?” + What Is Autoethnography? Autoetnography it an acobiogophical pence ‘foning and research that delays tiple leyersof conciousness, connecting te personal fo the enlinnal, Back ud for toe faphers pace, ft through am ethwographe tete-enie ews, ocising ontvord om aoe and wal aspects of theo personal experince the, they Took inward, exposing # wuereble delat te moved by ond my move trough Froct, and resist caltwal ntrpetations (see Deck, 1990; Newman, 1996; Reed Dewahay. 1997), Aste zoom backward ad eran teardand ontoard distinctions benoce the per foal and cults become blared, sometines eyond distinct recognsion, Usually item i frst perzon voce, outoethnoraphic texts a peor ma vit of frome res, poet Fesion novels, potograplicessays ponds ys onrna, ragimented and lgeed wring. and socal science prose. in thse texts, tree action, dialogue, emotion, embodiment, ‘piiuaity, nd ref consciousness are featured, hpeaning at relational and nstintonal ores tected by hatory, soc irate, and ext toe which themed ne dale re tealed theoug action, (cling, ehowght, and Tangvaee “The term autoetnography hasbeen cic lation forat ar to decades Athough ath pologst Karl Heder veered in 1975 10 the ants onon acct of wha people do sax ethos, David Mayan (1979) sally 8 Credited a the originator ofthe erm. Heya limited the term to culeurl level studies by on tUwupologists of ther “own people,” i which the esearher i full ade by wnt of being “ative” eitng am ita amon eit the group. ov cheving fll meberbip the rn eo studied (p10) Tike muy erma aed iy ail aint, te reonmge and applications of satoethngrsply Inve evleed ina manner tht maker precise def rit and application dif sem appro pre none to inelnde nd the Broad rac of Scoehnagray those des thet have ben Tere byophe solr stated terms sch as personal aratives(ersonal Narrauzes Cp, 1989), narratives ofthe self Richard, 199%), personal experience narratives (Denzin. 1989), {elfatories (Dein, 1989), fst person accounts (Eli, 1998), pesonaleseys (Reger, 1970), nngraphie ort stoves (Elli, 19984), wr lng stvies (Bichardaom, 1997), complete men er eseureh (Adler © Adler, 1947), 2nto-obser aon (Adler Adler, 1994), opportitc research {Riemer 1977) ersonal ethnegaply (Craford 1996), erry tales (im Basren, 1988), lieed experiance (Van Magne, 1930) erica! cite cguply (Church, 1995), selfetbnograpin (Men tamer, 1995), radial empcinm Jackson. 1989), scioantobnograply (Zo 1982) sto pahoraphy tasekins, 1993), evocative nas tives (Bochner, Elie, Tillsann Healy. 1997) personal writing (Dents, 1997), reflecve eh ography (Ela & Bochner, 1996), conesional {ales (Van Bonen, 1988), etinographic memir (loc. 1991), etimolsorape eee, 1983), utobilogy (ayme, 1998), cllarative stab: Crophy (Goldman, 1999), ethnographic sto Diography (rondes, 1982), emeuionalin (Gn rium Holatein, 1997), experiential texts (Denein, 1997), narative ethnography (Abn Lghod, 1993), antbiograpies! etbography ord-Danahay, 1997), ewognephic poster (Macus & Fiche, 1986), nate ethnography {lnk Tierney, 1984), dgenousexhnegphy (Gonzales © Krceh, 194), and ec antoion raphy (Reed-Danahay, 1997) Nevertheless, 5 Gn scents often dacs anoeogaphy 5 ubgpe of some aterm ch aniston ‘tc aconnts Van Neonen, 988). araie ti ography (edlock, 1991), interpretive biaphy Dever, 1989), new or experimental etinogr> py Els © tne, 19960), scrpoetis (Elis740 @ METHODS OF COLLECTING AND ANALYZING EMPIRICAL MATERIALS 6 bony, 1986) or postmen ne (Cyler, 1986). 2 pial Vine method sraepes hve en devioped in conection ih oetbnopepe recs tongs hy may bape ths form of cet eh eel Ths Chae yea oa! mipetin (Gls, 1998, Boraphes! mehod (Den 1989), penonl expos mets (enn & Connely 1994 feminine 1982), eel ays ere, 199), rari igty (sca, 1999) coon resereng mets ale, 195, coco ced nate fainer Eli, 183) and ince emening (Eli, ange, Tian Hey 1997 sone pines, termsenent'o spars eldhateeaoed, ‘ich atin scolny prea ia gat Jotmon 198), stoops! atoy rednan, 190) solo! ebuply tenon" 18721980, pce acne (Sha, 1996) adeno sxclag li "9Pieh manhole te Bry rn 198) seat eploy {ereyan, 199), indore etoplogy Caioc 199, xeothogcoy (Sat, 1987), sefeoncious ena (Cote 1982) entropy of te ai Rode 1990), shopolgy tome Gakon, 187, aire Plog poctes fonds 191) ed aa inal farang, 90) or come tom trl ontotbogpi enh 1398, Petiomance auchogaply Ol Tayo, 1997 stnabnopephe promene ok Fale, 1999) nes, honey uae rap a rote ts of Send tenting ais ond rca hat come the enol to thecal, gun peor it fiero Sot soy Sok orth ‘pel sof rsd bok ers ore ‘role, Clogs 1997 Dek, 90, i 197, 19bta Ela Bocne 19a; Gel 1997 Herndon 199; Loma, 193, Pt, 1998 ea nay, 1297 oer 192) “utoctngphe wy he enpheson the raeaeh proces ih). care (ab tosh aed on sel tne) ee Beet Dana, 1999, 2), Dif empl of each sorihyfleaoent places tum ofeach ofthese three an, Rseecher diy ‘gre on te boundries of each category don the precie definitions of the types 0) ante timography. Indeed, many writers move back, sand forth among terme and meonings even i the same etces Recognizing this Limitation 1 willmenton fr heuristic purpores. afer widely sed expressions that provide a terse of the range of approaches astcisted teh arth rograpy “Although reflesioe ethngraphies primarily focnsonacultureat beatae autor ase heir lum expertencr nthe cultarereflexely to bend back an zlf and lok more deeply dnteactions. In naive etinopraphics, earch rho are natives of eutues thet Bove been ‘marginalized o exoicied by others te bone ‘ard tnterpret ther cus cates for otbre. texts by "completemember revearcher” re: archers explore groups of which they already sremenbertorinishich, dung therecarh re ‘ess, they bave become full member with ome plete idetifeaion and eceptence. a personal Ineratves, social tent take om the dal dette of academe and personal selves tell ‘utobiogaphcal stories about some aspect of ‘heir experince in daly Iie. in literary ant thnographis, am ator’ primary denis tionisasan anobiogephicaleiterratherthana soci siontct, and the ters fuse as much om examining asf utobingraphiclly acon iter Dreing a ealtare for a nonnative andionce (xe Deck, 1990) In reflesve ethnographiee, the researchers Personal experince becomes important pra ‘hy in how it lainates the cltre der a. Reflesve ethnogrpbies range along contin. ‘uum fom starting earch romane'soumenpe rienceioetbnogrphicehie the esevchar ee evience 1s actually studied along wa othe & Durtcpants 0 eonfesonal tales where ther searcher sexperince of dong the stady become ‘the focus of icestiaton. Feminism has contributed egnifcaty tole timating the atobicgrophcal oie asocicted with refleive ethnography (or example ele 1996; Behar & Gordon, 1395; Keeper 1991. 1996; Personal Natives Group, 1989; Rich ron, 1997). Many feminist rnterheve advo selfother ated starting reccrch (rae one's on expe ence (08 Sith, 1979). Thus, 4 4 greater oF Itser extort, ressrcers corporate then per. tonal expencnces and sandpoints than tif ein pce or ms Bec any Rar, 18, FP on 59 teem el mpi dinianft cant ct th Be pupansa apf sere Bsmt te supe ery ee te eh fol me ft son, 1989; Okely, 1992; Tamer & Bruner, 1986). Prticalrly contovensial the notion B 1996) ‘isinguisher Betoeen ethnographie. meno? {alo ealed confessional tals by Ven Masten, P1988) wich be ebographer whose the fo ‘ethnographic description and analysis of eters andthe emphasis on the “ethnographic die: ERS logue or encounter between the narrator and ethnographic menor 8 rooted historically 6 ‘he penonal diner and ourmals kept by Malinovaks (1967). Standing om bt tholdere, many einnographers who followed wrote con fessional tales about ther rxearch in volet F eparate from their research documents (62, Dumont, 1976, 1978; Rabinow, 1978, 1977) ome wrote nder pe names ord 10 a0 lesing academic crit eg, Bose, 1984) The development of hickind of flvioe writing ‘connected, according to Tedlook (1991), 108 shin the 1970s frm am emphasis om pate Autaethnography, Personal Narrative Reflexivity #74 ‘pont observation tn the “olsenstion of participation” and 0a eniphasion the prcees of writing. This abift was inspired bythe ‘psemoloel dons arrociated nth tbe ca tepreventtion ae the changing componstion of toe soho Become etopraphet, with more two, lower cls, tbnicand racial grap arid “Third and Fourth World cholar mon veprtentd (Bochner € Elis, 1999). ‘This changing composition aio i atrccited sath concerns about power and press and with ‘are ethographes writing about ther nn pe ple, Native ethnography, for empl, writen by researchers from he Third and Fort Worlds eho shoe a history of colomialam ar economic ibordination, —oxcadingsubuqation by tthncgraphers eho have made teon abject of {their work. Now az brewer! iderontsrers, ative emopraphers contac their un clara ores (often focusing om ther on ent iog pie forexemple, sr Kinksd, 1988; Rodrigues, 1983), raise sevions questions abot be interpre Latins of others oho te about ther, and ae their dual postionalty to problematie the di tinction between obterver and ober, onder sad outsider (ce, for exenple, Motz Haller 1997, Tin, 1989; for more dered dcusions. see Neuman, (996; Reed Danabay, 197; ellock, 1991). CCompletemember rewarchers it aterm coined by Adler aed Ader (1987) to refer t3 archer who ae [ally commited tad amersd i the groups they study. Dring the re earch proces, the "convert retearcher ier ies {with the sroup and “becomes the phenomenon (Mebon & Wood, 1975) bing studied. For exam ple, Jles-Rosete (1975) became a bapied ene believer nthe Afncan Apostle church she tu fad. "The “opporteniaic™ researcher (Riaren 1977; sometimer called a indigenous researcher in anthropology see Tedlock, 1991 stud set ng of chick be othe lead 2 member(s 4 Hayano's 1982 stedy of poker or Krieger's 1943 study ofa lesbian comm) be contrat to complete member resarh, here the emphasis inom the research proces and {the eroup beng ead, seal sont rent) ‘nave beg 10 view themes a the phenome: som aed t eit ceacaive prvonal narratives742 @ METHODS OF COLLECTING AND ANALYZING EMPIRICAL MATERIALS ‘pecially focused om their academies well et ‘heir personal lies. Thee primary purpose i fo snderdonda selfor some aipect of aieloedine cultural eontet In personal narrative tests, a thors become "readers become “Jou” b= lectsbecome us” Prticipaneare encouraged to pariciate in «perma relationship withthe _horrexearcher, tobe tected as coreseaches, 1 share auhorry and to author thei cum lives In their 1m voices. Readers, 00, take amore ae tive soe a they ar invited tnt the aon’ sword evoked te feling evel abot he events being decribed, ard timated onze what they earn tere to wflect om, aderitnd, and cope swith thi ow he. Toe goa i to write mean ingly and evoctively about opie that matter and mey make a difernce to include sensory fad emotional expenence (Shelton, 1995), and fo write from am etic of care and concern (Densin, 1997; Nodéogs, 1984, Bcharom, 1997) Literary and cultural etic often fin social scientists ix employing the term sutoeting. raphy in reference 10 antabiopphies that selfconsciouly explore the interplay ofthe in Inospctve,prconaliy engaged elf uit eateral descriptions mised through language, bicory, and ethnographic explancion (ee Dec 1990; Lionnet, 1989: Prat, 1994). For example, ‘Lionet (1989) and Dack (1990) bt label and explore Huron's (1942/1991) memoir az ‘entoethrography, in which the traditional stor teal frame and specific dates and ment atic sted with ewtobiogaphy are mininiard end the tempt to demonstrate the lived experience ad Imumanityf suthor and their peoples to outside udiences is maximized At Hurston (19421 1991) explains about the ol ong ahe gathered inher un reearh, "The words da not count The tunes the wig othe thing”. 144), Deck compares literary eatoetbnogaphir to selfe- Fesve fildork accounts, sch a1 Shosth's (Nina: The Life and Words of 3 thang Woman (1981) and Craponcanos Tahari Porat ofa Moroccan (1980), which the euthors ground themseles inthe field experienc, reference other social scientists who rv ta validate the characters thet stores, heap the extbiogrph teal componente mainly in the intoductons and phlouesand focus personal evlationedietly onthe fiedortat hand rather than on tein ertanal development. Social scent ale writ literary ard poetic ethnography. Dar Rote(1991), for example i fingusbes between his own personal poetry, which snot connected to his emtvopology, and the poetry of ether anthropolgit each es Stan ley Diamond (1982), which fociaes om the thmographic experience of anthropologists as observer. Many antbropologit, such as Ed ‘word Sap and Ruth Bened:s, hase publi ais etoraphy in mainstream anthropology Journals and peronalposty tn itera outlets (Grier, 1993). Now Anthropology and Hu ‘mans publishes fiction and poetry by anthro. Dolo In sociology, Laurel Richardson forex sample, bes publbedexsays in iterary (1998) ‘and social cence jourals (1996) ad poetry ot ography (19940), ‘Autoetnograpy, native ethnography, zl ethnography, memoin autobiography, even fee tion, have become bed genre. In many 25%, tuber sci science work it called an utoetogeepiy or an ethnography depends om the elas made by thse whe write and those twho une about the work. Whether «work Hs called ftion ofc, antethnogry or mem i isconnecred towering practices—social = ereeantoetinoraphieruualy contain citations 1 other academics and wie an academe, deh linary vocabulary publishing pracicesicho publishes the book, how its promoted (ore ‘ample the el defied om the outside cover) and labeled (SBN number), ard who the tar ‘etedandencess and reviewing pacticeseho fndorest, who reviews it,andwhoverites about it Literary erties test wine antbiogrphies 3 stcetbnraphieand not other, Haruton che sees herself says, antbropologe, ad fc tion writer Lionel, 1999), provider good ex empl ofthe meses and overlap, Mataream social ence tend oclauly atoetnograhies (for example, Elis, 19956) and life stories shout academic careers (or exemple, Berger, 1990; Goetting © Fenstermaker 1995; Riley, 1988) intothegexreofmemoirorautabiograp>y {see Zussman, 1995) ehaps the ore apis ow ofthe termentethnogrephy only sigues Autoethnography, Personal Narrative, Reflexivity @ 742 pester tolerance noe fr the verte goals of ngspty und a bttor wedertanding of te ality onl indeterminacy of onguage ene comers Sling at the socal ence prone, 1 place the copy the Vado eatin the package wilt stones tmeenngSylva ery inne {ne how ae wl ake (A esk Ite, Sylvia gaia apps 2 my oor. “Okay {read everyting you sen" me ‘Wow, those personal ratativs jas blew me Jay. Yourawtoethoopraphy piece wasinetes ing, but hed to get toh, fe be more lp fal oer Fm sre” she ceneoes thes consi es ck, "bye aow Pm very eonfsed “Listen, fan have § rates. on ving nt depart logis woh mses esmebackanoter tine” Syl spond eres throng the do No. wait. What confuses you?” Task. ‘alin my methods clases tee ght sha ovo poet gant my om ake tetring wih my oberon tht my Seoch shoul prodoe ont Knowedge and theory ar the aie you gave me emp tw contedsbon what ey obetves woul tei doa aunt nography: Why would ot fished! How could prove that nat Uhave to say abou mp expevnce i re? Auoctingaphy Ha el soll ee, “Yue timing i peefet. Come wit ey" say, pabbiog my keys and walking down the Fal want yn to hese somebody” "We enter 4 eroded room where el is ood: looknggiy siting athetable= whisper fe Sylvian 3 we tae sets the ack “Welcumero aoe session of out ec éplnary Cellogsium Series on Incerpetie Re searchin he Socal Scenes,” 7 im Spiro, a Aeparmental colesgae who organizes the tall. “Today's speaker # Aet Bochner, who teaches PhD err on naratoe nary.” "Wie hare heels every week" Thisper te Spi. "They pretty informal” "Av wil present i rene foe bone 15 inate nd then urns le hea fence fm announces, ve aked hin 0 elk Shou what sme wens hve ale the nse city on prstmal mse Ad "Why Peronat Narracse Blaser snekome At Bochner, ‘Ares es i use eg is ere eos i, td fe Ho tlk ents ease he oot hl i tein © Why Personal ‘Narrative Matters tes plore tb rete and to ave the opportunity tospoakvieatopicabont which leet So pasonatel, As mony of om brow, Fea ds Gatedasatradionalempunctand spent mot of Ihe fst decade of ry weademic hie pling the trade ha earned a rednate sade. nthe late 1970 tego to el wreasy abot the polit fal plorophisl, eel, nd deoloweal fou ‘atoms ofr ecence researc Bochner, 198}. In eosen field, comomction escarch re irc rete largely ot he premise ts con Imumiction betiocen Inman could be dered tan object But nmasecommucation isnot hich ara dicpline sendy obec, Com cation ia process consiting of segues of ferttions and the dynane human aetity of tying thm, Moreover, 2 omamuricang be ans ny buna comnumicaing. we re inside what are studying. Te reflexive ual tee of hnmen comnucatin auld ot be Inchetd "in the ome of ioe" Thy tld be acemmadaed and ineroted ito research ands product. Tike many oer socal sientats who took these mates rerouly, my confidence oth dow. soil sence methodology wat dhaken by the etigues of posvtructiali, pontmodernst, land feminit wars. timed 1 narativn a @ ode of gry becoue |wss porous hat 2 Chal scence tee needed to construct diferent telationship beeen rcerchereand sets nd744 @ METHODS OF COLLECTING AND ANALYZING EMPIRICAL MATERIALS ‘between authors and readers. wanted 4 more perronal collaborative, end iteracrive rlaton- ‘hip, one that centered othe guerton of Few Imuman experience endowed with meaning and on the mora and ebical eboies we ace ast man beings iso live nan uncertain and chang- Ing worl. alto wanted to undercond the con- tention hot constrain which stores ie can tell ind hv we can tel here, end show how peo Dl can and do resis he forma of eal contol thar marginalize or lence countemarativs, ore that deviate fromor anaes the can tal ones. The tests produced der the rubric of teat | ell maratve inquiry woald be stores that ereae the ffect of reality, showing charac- ters embedded inthe completes of led mo- ments of struggle, resstng the intrusions of hens, disconnection, fragmentation, marginal tation, and incerence, yi fo Brrr ore the contin and coherence of e's unity Inthe face of wnespcte Bons of fate tat ell (me's meanings aed values into gueton. refer ta thee personal tories as evocative vacratves (Bochner Elis, & Tillmam-Hely, 1997, 1998). The word evocative contrasts the expresive and diloge goals ofthis work with the mare raditionalorinttins of mainstream, representational rocial ener, Usually the thor of am evocative native sntes inthe fist person, mobing erelf the object of research and {haz reaching be conventional spaaton of e- archer and subjects (ackson, 1989); the story often focues on a sing case and thus breaches the tratonal concer of esearch fom general fection arose care to genraliationseitin @ (ase (Gees, 1973); he mode of storytelling ‘kin tothe novel or bography and thus faces the boundaries tat normally separete vocal nce frm Bitrate the acest and ead bility of the text repostions the reader a @ opartcipent in daegwe andthe ejects eo thodo view ofthe reader ara passive receive of nowledges the diclosure of hidden detas of privat life bighlighs emotional experience and thas challenges the rations actor model of isl, Dorformances the marae es eas the ule to abstract ard expla, sresing the ure hey over the destination andthuseclipesthe sts nti econ of control and mastery: and te puodic porteya ofthe ebb ond flow of re onthip experince dramaticer the motion of connected lives scott the curve of time, ad thes eis the sandard practice of portraying sel ifeandelationtbpaaca snapshot. Evce tive storie activate eubjecitty and compel fematonal sponte, Thy long tobe sed rather ‘than omalyeed tobe tld and retold rater than heared and tid offer Teron for further convertion rather thon wndebatale conclu Sions endo sebattte the compansonship of intimate deal for the loneliness of abstracted fet Pesonal writing akin to evocative naretie nas ecently proliferated in thesnainstean pres in new jouraliy,srerestve nonfiction, endin the gemes of literary memoir, axtobiography. and sutopathogsply (Buford, 1996; Herring ton, 1997; Hawkinn, 1993; Pain, 1998, “ine Confetiont,"1996). All ofthe ie voriuing genres (Tierney, 1998; see alo Chapter 20,thsvolue) Seems to have tured toward more intimate, per tonal, ond tefconcious woting. 1 think the move in he socal sconces toward es anon mows, more personal tng parallels the same bend in Iterative and jonrnstion (Dens, 1997; Neumann, 1996) Whatever the reasons ce ripe evidence of burgeoning niet among divee field of social science nthe gen res of personal narative and autoehnogrp. ‘Te examples | ave in mind include the recent spel owe of ech ural 2s Jornal of Con- femporary Enography (Elly & Bochne, 19960) and Qualtte Sociology (Glassen 1997; Here, 1996) the book series Ethro- rophic Alternatives, publhed by Altalire Pres the edited collections by amropoloits (Gerson, 1993; Brady, 1991; Obelye- Calls, 1992), secologit (Ells & Flaberty, 1992: Here 1997], andedueatore Tiemey Linco, 199%): the many articles and morap pb lished in ecademe journal tach a5 Arseic Anthcopologi, Andzopology and Harman Quarter Fens Sra, Journal of Persons! and Inerpesonal Loe, Qualitative Inquiry SO Ciolgieal Quarterly Symbolic Interaction, Text and Performance Quartet, Western Journal of ‘Communication, and Women’s Stadies nteena ‘onl orem By ty of exemple, let re briefly mention nee plished evocative neratives, Each ih fights the communicative practices torowgh tei he autor identity eles, diaplaves, rd pt co se (Bruner, 1990). tn perce these writers arate how certain metapiors sped mreanings are meratiisd so thei tes ‘Mukai (1989) shee the led experione of ones from within” expresung the ways (abi food an starvation ae enpltted ito ter ideniry, Rona: (1992) presents a layered idory in which she performs ber situated, mt Pleas expresing be rtrd ambrelence ening the dal ides of social eine Mrecncher an eve dancer aed Elis (1993) Tavigater the emotional maze of shock ond gre rahe copes ith conflicting cademic and fm Shy personas in the aflermath of er bother’ {dan death a airplane cash. Each 8 stperson secon, werton ay astory the reses io dete about te author's own = pevence The reearl text i the ory om plete rt open}in ul Lagely fre of academic fargo and abstracted theory The authors pit Tegestories over analysis, llowing ad encour ltgingoteratce odors and mliple inter tations, They ask their ears of the tat Of ther somes and 19 become copartiponts, tngoing the sory live morally, eroconally esthetlly, and ineloctealy (Richardson, 19940) “The question that ne weal asked i, “To suhat tnd of tat do these stones apie?” OF tenths question tasked atone that expreses hepa, doubt and even hostility Some et Leste. Mink, 1969-1970; Shote, 1987) pve ‘that stoves ive fea strucre it does or have Lands stoves fictional fe Since the exte= Ihees which naraivs av bated may be ope nd certain, estore they aro ca reve be determinate or complete (eg Ste, 1949) Given the itorionsofmemory andthe mediation of engnage,narative is #heeys tory about the ast en nt the past el “A second eritcien i tha personal native tefeisor advances “romantic constion of the self (Asksc, 1997) seworthy of being les spar of socal scence. fom are" oryeller rather thon a story analy” ogee ‘Autoethnography, Personal Narrative, Reflexivity @ 145 Arkin (1997, 288), then yor go ecomes therapeutic veter than angi. Attnzon be lives tbat a teat hat dete aa agent of elf di covery elfcreation precy 1h Challenge one face eben an expected ‘erupted lle, vlenc, o acident ca Torben academic ext, Peswmably if you don? bec nomatie to soilogelcltural. or sore tthe form of analy, ain fois 2 “socal (hets then you ae not domg socal scien White posonately protesting te ways in which omevonters want “to piilege certain kinds nd tecaions of narrative performance,” Atinion (1997) aims fo reer ad privilege) the san (tod wero of retentions social cence by {nvalicng o dismissing any work that does no, rhinos, “use narrative tachi serous 8 al alysis” (pp. 138339) Let me briefly addres the reservations preed by thee cir Fst, theres the estos Up maratie rth, Wht s the point of stoned Ie arate rath erst keep te pat tee ie the preont Stossel the earingsand iruficanee of tbe pare complete tentae toed reviale according to contingencies of 0 resent ifecrcumatancs Ue present rom sich tre amate, Doesnt this mean thatthe ores tal eoay un the rik of distorting the post Of Cour it doc. After al, saves rearrange, rede rhe, iter omitand reise They com burg Se mmerons ayer, deal stance, et Does this stinte of storytelling threaten the projctofpesonal aretive Notat al. becase tory moe a neta atemp 0 miro he facts tomes ies does nt seck 10 recover alee onsined meanings. Only within the memo politi scrounding the azcaracy of recovered Femarien bic emerged wth the contest of Donte psychology, would such 2 etcism be ‘eaten Hacking, 1995) Thetrathofnarratees mot akin: correrpor donee wit rin meanings ered tobe cote some ror! of prnaratve experience, One mo tative interpretation of events can be jdeed pons another but theres mo standard by which mesure norte apna the meaning of tens iemacues, Becanse the meaning of frenarratve enpeveceiconaitated ints mara tive exjession fea nario: inexicably746 @ METHODS OF COLLECTING AND ANALYZING EMUGILAL B41 EIAL anected, Life buth amcgses olng aud ‘nates meaning fom i Naratei both about ling ad prt of Triledths itl talk "Why Personal Naraive Mater” to emphaaze the we ive within the tensions comaitted by our mernones ofthe part ‘ond entpations of be fture Personal nara tives the projet of tellin ie ie response ‘the human problem of ethorhip, the dese £0 make seme and preserve cobeonce over the Come of on ves, On perianal identities sem largely contingent on ow well we bridge the re membered patt with the anticipate (ture 10 provide who Stephon Cotes (1971) calls "acon finity of expenence over ime." The narrative challenge tha we feces narrates isthe desire Jor comity, to make sense of our les 2s 8 tehole, "The present of thins pat and the pres of tins future," says rites (1971, "ar the tension of every moment of experience, both ied the present and quately fee tiated by ip. 302). The work of lf naration #140 produce his sense of comity to moka life thot sometimer teem to be falling apart come together gain, by veuling ond estorying the eventeofone'sife. Tos, araivemaltersto ts becate 4 David Cart (1986) obseres, “co Dearne sem to be a need itposed apo sherri no” 97) At atk ou amstve attempt to acieve a coven sense of never ae the very eerity and intelli ‘one elficod, which eto tenderly an fll hy on the tory esse to lnk birth 10 life to eat (Macintyre, 1981) the fine analysis the selfing from theif try it oneracseforitaelfout of what isinberited, whet Us experienced, and what 1 deaved (Freeman, 1993, 1998; Kerby, 1990. Sothe question mat, “Does my or veflect my past accurately?” otf roe bling miror tomy ast, Rater I maat at, "Whotare the con lequencesmy sary produce? Whatkindoa per Som doesit shape me ini? What nev possiblities hoes tirade for ving my ie" The racial ‘ses arta narrative do, hat consequences ney has, to what wes they ea Be put Thee enuequenees often precede rather tha fll the stry brezse they areenmesed nthe act of telling, “The story of on lines becomes or tes" writes Adria Rich (1978, p34). Ths personal narative is part ofthe bua exiten- fal srgle 19 move life ora. Dough the raratve att of elfereation we eck 1 be. Cone idenicl tthe soy wate Anais Nia Merscores this dese for self created, naraive meaning when se annonces," could not live vans ofthe words offered 10 me... bela fo writes becate one hae to ees world which olive” uote n Oatley, 1834) Tgeimpatint ith eniters who belted smith the therepetic conequences of vis They tendo draw shard and fast distncionbe. tween theopy and socal research, implying tht narratives ore useful ony insofar aby advance fociologet, anthropelegcal, or peytoloneal theory. Far thes enti, narrate snetens the tohele project of cence. They reply angel, Shouting the canonisaly given, profesional r- sponse: “Ifyou ean’ pit theory, then you an play inthe bg lenge.” The most ipo fan thing eto be omat, clever analy veo: that's tahat means ta be academic What they pose isthe they equate ith the tersputes hse mental the my, the popular Ths they em ize vorepttouly x aba feminist eve Jane Tomptine (1989) cals “the trabwag of emo tiom "ear waged easels by acodemic intel Tecnals "agus feeling goin wore, against teat personal (p. 138) 1 test that fnctions as am agent of sli covery selfereaton, or the author a wel as Jor those sha read and engage te tet irony threatening wrder a narroe definition of social inguiry. one that exec socal ice with 2 ‘moral center and har, Why sbowd caring and nity be secondary to contralling and kno1e~ ing! Why muat academies be condivoned be Iheve thot tet important only fo the exten it pes beyond the merely personal? We nse 10 [estan our assnnptions, the metarales that govern the inuainal workings of social nce rguments over felings, their ert ties abstractions oer concrete evens, sophisti aed jargon over oeceenble prose. Why shoal tee beoshomedifowrworkha therapeutic oe tonal value? Besides, baver Your personal stoiet, ays een ended it on vescarah na rapt he question i heter wo shuld ex ss one ealnerabiry and subjectivity openly rth text orbide them behind socal analys Sometimes think: At, ifonl oucoulddo better jb commencing the important diffe nce benccena representational ard an e00cs= TTocsocal science, Why sit so bard tograsp that fennel waraive i moral work and etical rstee? When the narrator the ivesiaton eucortinexen shee alveysosking whats Tight todo nd good to be. Ais mast exten (are who seat "top naratve i is pce” {Attn 1997 343) sen think here tty me ight place og. They sek to pre srciehat lead he been ost (Gergen, 1994 Schwandi, 1996), They tink that if these per mal vices can be silenced then perp hey eer ens to bnuineso ul the socal te ‘cee, protected pans the contingencies of i row cxpenence restored in the traditional be thin a vonscendent position frm which f0 peck (and rite oth ahorty, feed of moral choices and emotional dilemmas, and Tpued to champion contra ver ats fats oer Iheaings and gor over peace of ie fl, yoess thst good place ro stop and thon hi session open for comments oF Ques Sonn” Art invites People in he audience shut fle dei ser asia hen several ands op. Billy” Ar ay, ponting raed 2 philesophypeofesor I ecogize "re, you mentioned tha yur tur coward astatne. was provoked by postmodernism {Coold you elaborate om that” “St hadead Thomas Kahn's The Srctare of Scientific Revoluson and as irprested by 6 Srpersen thor there wae a0 way to ding equivocal whan our minds fom what's eoethere nthe would, Aboue he sme dine. cas ineeaced to he wring of Wingenstin [95d), Heidegger (19711, Gadamer (1989), hd Devrda (1978), ar 0 spessh et eon. Tngite divecse ways al of this work stood in ppostiontoteview-—ebarnow semsinereds My aivethat Langage coold be 3 neal ae ceamparent medion of communication. wheierweapprtongogetn curves ote inoti here alway ielppage, inexact. nde Tevninacy. Then alongcae Richard Rose's lovopby andthe Mimor of Netae (1979), eich provided x poweral syihesi ofthe challenges Pear nen venerable nocons about wah ad Knowledge fe was hard to ead Rorty withoot facing wvally shaken [came away convinced thatthe foundations of radicionalepistemolony sere flibe- No song ese could be ade hat oman knowledge was independent of te hu ran mind Al trike were coningen onthe abingativiies of harman beings No sharp di Tintionseovldbemade beeen fat and values Kyou coulde'celiminate he anfaence ofthe ob- serve on he observed hen no theories 0° find Inge could ever be completely fee of man Yak AI Theinvestigator mould abwaysbe implicated inthe produc. So why nor observe the observe focus on tuning or observations back 98 8 fetes? And why or wee more direc, feomthe fource of your own experience? Naeaivey o> ‘heal, Evocotvely, No longer was there 207 Seep ressontobaliee that socatscienee is closer to physics than to erature o poet, Besides (essne social seen beegse Loughe a5 way to adres dep and troubling questions Shout how eo nea mesningfl wets, ad et {al life Somewhece along the way these ues fone took beckiest to methodological igor ‘Now fl iberaed to eappe with shee quer tions gain more dialog through personal ‘A woman dort ecognte stands nd shouts foomnthebackoftheroom, "vealwaysfound he postmadeaists depressing and rience. As Ar sai, ‘Nateave is always satory about the past’ and that's cally all ld cone sre—one selective story about sha happened wren from a partcsise pein of view for spe tials purpose. Bur if cepresenation i your Bl is best ave as many sources ad evels of sory recorded at different times as posible, Evento, eae hac every sony pata soi ved” Teak four quarcersforn my. sestthem inc the coffee machine Tay. "Cheem and supa” “Obsno. Letmepay,” seins opening her "Nex dine. Okay?” "Otay, jou Black for me.” We take our cate feesousideandstunderatreeweroy the feet Focda spring day. “Ts thee 2 way ol Autoethmography, Personal Narrative, Refleivty @ 73 than eepeseoaton co think about personal facracve?” Sylaase. "Wel, yes if you viewed your prec a closer toartthan science, then your goal would pote so milo porray the facts of what hap pened t you accurately, bu instead ro convey the meanings you attached wo the experience Your want ell story that enders coud en ter and lela pats of, You'd writes a way to crake renders to fee and thik about our life, Sov hee Hoes in elation to yous. You'd want them to experiance the experience you'r it ing about—in your ease, breast cance” ithese were your goal," Teo ing notes athe time the experience cared ‘would have been help bot not absluely eeesaty If youre wing abou an epiphany, ‘hich you sully ar in hs hind of esearch, yor may be too caught wp in ving ico write “Dut then how do you comer ee din Stes And thacn' hep mediate notes foe = Seen152 ¢ METHODS OF COLLECTING AND ANALYZING EMPIRICAL MATERIALS “Well, you won't realy Memory doesn't ‘work na linea way not dos if, for that ma ‘et AsDeonin and als natant Inengrng Subjectivity, ee book | eded with Michoe Faber thouphs aed feelings ice around on, ‘ast back then forwaed, the topical is imerve, ye with the chronological, thoughts and fel. ings merge, drop fom ot grep then reappear {in apther context Intel if, we dont away koow when we know somehig. Remember Ars talk—evenes in the pas ate always interpresed from our current positon. ethat doen't mean there's no value in eying ro diemtagle now fromehen, atlng asyoucelizit's nots poe yout ever comple o et completely igh ins ‘Stead, you sive to get i dilferenly contoured nd nuanced ina mesningflwayas Richardson says in her Hondbook chapter” “What do youmean? Howdo youd that?™ “lutea process of emotional alia which imagine being bakin the scene emotionally and Dhyscly Ifyou ean eevee scene emotion ally then you remember other details The 3d vanage of writing close othe ime ofthe erent 'sthat it docs’ tke much effort to ace lived ‘motiont—theyte often there whether you anthem tober not The disadvantage tha big so involved in the scene emetionlly meansthatitsdificaltrogeeousideofttoanae {ree from a cultural perspective, Yet both of these processes, moving in and moving ou, ae ecesary to prodace an effective autoctinog: raphy. That why i's good to write about a vent while your felings ae sil item, sod then 0 go back to it when you'te emation ally dane, ve had sruderes who were great eting inside emotional experience, bt they had tunnel vision. They couldn move stound inthe expecience, They wer unable ose las lemightappeas ro others. The had rhe sna Igsing their thoughts and fechgs ay soily onstaced processes. Fl give you myth le on systematic sociological inrospecion, ‘which aks more abou ieoapection ass socal proces” “dike tha. Buea noeeuer'd want eel sll those emotions asi. Aad ome ofthe fel- ‘gs ve had and sil have abou my cance 1 \oold’t want to share. fe 0 vulnerable Well thas your eal. Bai you've not wil ingtobecomea vlprsbieobuerver, then nope yououshtto reconsider doing autocdny Myoulecyoursifbe vulnerable shen your tend 25 ae mote likely t9 respond walncrabiy sod thar'swhat you wart, volarable resets. Loace with Rath Behas, who wrote in The Vulnerable (Obserer tha soca science that docs break yout hearjustis'r wath doing My goals the same at Dorey Alizons—~'o take the reader bythe throat break her heart and helt again Valoeability canbe scary, bur tals ea he the ure of growch and understanding” “ve always astumed my eat social ac nti was to deliver knowledge end sty snl erable," Sylvia esponds. "I dn know liad 3 choice ~S0, suppose Lam willing tobe walnerabe,” ‘he continues slowly. “How do I gt frm field 246 (0 wetng ina wat that opens up myself snd readers to being vlneable?™ "Doyouevertend feton?™ Whenshe not ™ “Maybe weshoul jase write fiction, Lolfer Now wait a minute” Ar cepeinands "You now everpthing me wit ison" ‘ Doing Autoethnography: Method and Form “Two weeks later Ssvisappeareia my ofice. "Hi, Fe miten mow of my story about my past 208. and I waited uni wat alos fished before began reading her personal nataivesofbresst cance, ee been very hetapevt” she ay, "0 write andro read. But Pi not sre Um going Gnrwhere on my diseation. have so many ‘uestions." Like wha?” Fase Why would anybody want 9 eed my stor? How dace my story ifr from what's aleady plished? And how willy sory bw {eeviews I want fo 60 af oder women?” “Sow down. Ace you leering 20hing” Ob, yen at every ta “Tel me whet yu'e Facing” “Well hac have altin common with thet women's breast cancer oie. For example, trove women tell of thee discovery of the Tormp—thar'eabwsys traumatic erent—shen the hagnosi and anssrent of testers options,756 @ METHODS OF COLLECTING AND ANALYZING EMPIRICAL MATERIALS then they dectibe waking up fom the sage, iping through the follow-up tesent acd tally here's ecovery and ome kind of resolo- fiona he end” eresting, tha’s almost exactly how CCowser sammatized bras cancer nactives in Fis book on illness nareaties,” 1 respond, plesed with howe much eading Svat done. ‘Mot survivor: describe making decisions about reconsioctive surgery shopping for 2 pronhes-if they decide to wear one—their hai falling out, and seeking serearive reat tment she consis widhou sipping abet.“ wrote about thet things aswell and." “hnd ave yoo learned anything sew from ‘wrking your story? Sorry didnt mess 10 eu you off, but Tm rious.” “Yes that canceriemore than amedialsory, lesa feling wor. leaned how seared 1 am ven though Fe been 3 servvor now for 7 Years: And thats the lnersing thing-—there's Te about longer survivors in stores or in social since research Mos survivors el thir tories soon after recovery fom treatment and they're asualy prey opsimisi about recovery Sand often cam o be Berer ofa the end than the begining. sIfetehat too, the optim mean e+ aecly ster my tetmenc was oer, hain” Syvia Cominves pasionately "But dont fecha way ‘pow ery so hardto pretend hat mn upbeat, ‘primis peri with no worries, 2 wartion two seared rome experiences. Bot what Thad face as rote my tory istbat seared allthe time tac the ence wil ome back re head carpal tunel syndrome and it’s probably fromthe chemo, Ad now thave sweats 2 dnd {don't know if’ early rmenopanse—an ther gilt of chemo sigs of the cancer te: Thening in soy, bat cancer has no improved ny life and lea'tmake tito agit. Holding in ‘hese felogs all hese year as been difeult and think e's had negative elec on my) Chological and phyial well-being and on my fae” Sylvia begins ory [touche shoulder and hand her a Kleenex. West silently for while, adness connecting us. Needing t0 sayin the tole of adver Uo Bac eny tear. “Do you sll want to continue this projet? ask gently “rise too painful” “Ob, no {vero continue she spond forcefully although her voice shakes. “WhatI'a experencingisimporantta me. leas hard pre tending: sometime thought ws going cry [Now rae I don't have to petend There ste ‘other storie to live and wre, Maybe trough writing and talking with other women about thei experiences, Lean figate out another sore relive, oe that might help me cope beer and rot take wo much ont of me. Maybe fan write myself as survivor in a deeper, more meaning: fal way like Arc was aking abow, You know L can't help wondering how other women fe) ersafe their teatment. Thats what wantt> Kenow—how it feels other, how they cope for don't she ad, the eats eating up aga "Does the experience conse tobe as fresh searytothem aitillistome? Maybe feanbot ontibte ro knowledge and Bele others myself rita story mecoalive with. How Un Tiving om, denying feelings —wel this ise sway tive” "Okay ete geing somewhere nov" Ly softy.“ think you hate your topic. I imap that other women thar yout seaseof wale bility and on contol over hee lve.Tehink ‘would Tadd vena shivering as Lima ine how dif t would be to have cane: fanging over mein such a inesiv way "Now how do we find out how othe longterm sun vor experience eaeet?™ “like ro do intensive inerviews with rv vorsof more than S year” Sylviarespondsener= fell, “and incide an Affian American fwoman there's 40 Kise on thei experienc of brent cancermand maybe even a lesbin ‘woman, because [think hee experiences mist be itferene, How many parigpants woute | eed? Tene-five?® “Ok no” ough “If you'r going 10 do in temive interviews, you'd need ony a fe maybe five o i inclading yousele: You'll want r tervew each woman a numberof ines bald twas in the eelaionsbip, and alo so they cn ren and eeapond to each ranscip before yw follow op wit he next interview” “Viow rach wil pactcipate™ Autoetbnogrephy, Personal Narrative, Reflexity @ 757 ive tat you shore aspects of thet expe tiene he interviews should beam ineractive Conversation, | would think But you have £0 flay that by eat Rather than overlay method Fo enperence, you want to eat YOU! 20° roach to cach woman's fe and chink about The would help her tel her sory. la some ‘Shes ariipans wil fel comfortable having S conversation i yousetitupthat way. But asa foie, we'e so ccoxored ro the autores tive interview situation tha some wormen stil sal expect you to be the authority and skal Te questions, Some might ingie abou your {tog others wil be oo gl Foran oppority to wel chee own to pay attention {D your “They'll wantyoato be the esercher aod ther Dist Betaps a few of the woumen will a5 The their sores. Remind me nexctime to Be Jowsan secon erate incerviewing hat Terote with. Chrisine Kiesinger end Lisa TFatmanHesly where we Bad conversations ver dinner aoureating disorders get Yoo {honking sbout form andthe poblemsof doing Inveratveinerviews—the dine involved 30 ‘Beemotional commitment and ethical ies of ‘dating in such 2 pevonal real. iL ab0 give ous piece [wrote with Aat on corconsracted Tern, which deserbesacwo-partprocesof Tdi vidally wring sovies thane thea shared fu covconaticed by several pariipant” “gacithere’somteriew sebedflerhen?” Syvia sks, but since she’s sling, 1 408° re spond How wl he chapers took and where iin stoey be? she ask, thisime serio The four will evolve ducing te resezch process You might sar the dsetation wih 3 Shoct personal ny pasion yourtelffrthe eader oll yout Tonger story asa chapter Or you gh integrate pars of your experience Yoo each poretpan's sony each of which ‘Cou for separate chapters Or wie YOu ‘tory in comparion so one of he pastiipans sn similar y08, 38 Christine Kisingz di Inher sad ofexing disorders “Perhaps you will wee each chapee ins igus frm to reflect the diferent experiences So fad in each interview” contin,“ 10 Tene someting about th characer of each Sroman’s story For example, if» parisipane celsher tory withot machina or questioning, from you, you might write he hows 00 fad os you linened to he and elected om ye {ie another inerview #imeactive, you igh ‘nie dialog show the proces of comm rion and interpretation tat occured berween orfyou'resuecenfalyoushould not only “un- Teas them and youre fr others, but a Har ‘ld Rosen sys, you shoud abo dacover the face under the mash. On {cominne fetal, "you could write she dissection, a Elo Eisner sages inthe form of novel The plot woul consis of your esearch journey Yo let tears experience ‘wih gow your search for understanding, the Grewons you ask, bow the women eespond, Sve thei answers open up for you, new ques om that arse, and how you interpret het ko: tes tathat eae, ou might end by showing how your socies compare an finally how your tory hanged a you tok in aed interacted with she Sice women’s stores. You'd have tobe eaeful hough, thar your sory didnt overitadow shit “Nes, anditwould probably be hard 0 get my commie to bay 2 nove.” Tod in agreement, a then remind he," No mat ow you tel the stor, he wetng hs 0 [eengaping and evocative. Tha’ nor hove soe ‘Semis have Been aught to wrt. Yoo'esen tally have olor bow ro wit by ceading 0° de and by wing 30d eewiting and gECN5 feedback, Ofcourse il provide esponte, bur you might want eo roesider joining a wetng soup 2 nc "eThat 3 god idea” Syhaesponds, jing down noteses she tll, “Wont also have to do teaditional ring? What about analysis or & mpl? Wil do grounded theory?” vel your commie wil demand an 20 Ipscehapten youcan ben tha Talso think yO teed one. The article f wzore on sigma con Tinced me ofthe beefs of moving berween a Fauve and etegoril knowledge, hough 1 do" think chars aecesar every 4S” Teominue hesita "You cou do asst rounded theory ansisis Then you'd divide hopters by concepts that emerges oF PE OF Some bind of eategor- OF each chapter might