The sentence that stood
out to me the most for this month was actually more of a definition. “Autoethnography
is also known for its commitment to diverse representational forms, vulnerable
and evocative description, and articulating the particularities and
complexities that comprise lived experience”. I’ve obviously heard of people
telling their own stories in their words, but I never knew that there was a
name for it or a deeper reasoning for using it. I think it’s important to be
aware of when an author takes this route and to think critically about what message
they are trying to convey to their readers.
People
may use autoethnography for a variety of different reasons, but I think
prominently it’s to expose the truth behind messy and uncomfortable situations
that you have to experience to actually understand. When authors are able to be
vulnerable and express situations that happened to them in their life, they can
create a deep connection with their reader. This can also give other people who
haven’t experienced these problems personally, a better insight to what other
people go through on a daily basis.
While
I was reading the article about family bullying, I was really intrigued because
this is something I have never experienced and wasn’t really aware that it’s
something a lot of people go through. I was able to see how much it really
affected these people personally because they were willing to share their
personal stories, which allowed me to visualize myself in their situations.
This got deeper in our class discussion when other students began to share how
this is something they have also experienced and can deeply relate too. Being
able to hear these stories and now have a word to describe what it is that I’m
hearing and reading allows me to expand my thoughts and views on life. This is
now something I will watch out for and take more time and consideration while
reading it because I know that it’s most likely a hard experience for the
author to share.
I personally have never wrote something like this, but
I imagine I could have some good insights on particular topics. I could write
critically about moving away from all of my friends and family and I could
write about losing a loved one. These are two events that I’m sure a large
majority of people could relate too, but for those who can’t they could see
what it’s like from my point of view. Hearing these stories from someone who
has actually experienced them, could make them a lot more real for someone who
hasn’t. I also imagine that if I were to write these articles, people who have
experienced it would have some written form to relate to.
In an article I found they continue to discuss the
importance and sensitive nature of autoethnography writing. They mention that
it’s able to express certain culture and life changing epiphanies that people
have. It also emphasizes the thick description and detail that they contain.
After learning more about the actual definition I also found some stories
written by people that I think illustrate the fundamentals behind this kind of
writing.
Links:
http://eprints.maynoothuniversity.ie/5730/1/AR_changing.pdf
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