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autoethnographer: one who uses lived experience as evidence with which to explore cultural phenomena.
FROM OUR ARCHIVES
"I had no idea what the repercussions would be should I disclose my identity to my students. Would I be fired? Would I be questioned? Would I be told not to talk of such things? This reticence is a sad reflection on my internalized homophobia, my being still uncomfortable enough with my identity such that I had to worry about keeping it secret."
“Woken Word” was born as my inner voice was awakening and the world, ironically was becoming “woke” while simultaneously retreating into isolation.
I wrote “The Crevasse: A Love Letter” to help me grapple with confusing changes to the terrain of my life.
The otherness is not somewhere out there. It’s in me. Still, my search did not stop to this discovery. It took me profoundly even further. It took me to love and poetry.
This piece, Hot Pink Truth Serum of My Trauma, is an autoethnography that speaks to the cultures and communities of survivors of childhood sexual abuse and violence.
From all there is something to be learned, as the river itself has been victimized, has not escaped its own environmental terrorism.
Odesa addresses the traumas of struggling immigrants, who face rejection and shunning rather than acceptance and understanding.
Terry Graff·
All ContentAutoethnographic Art & MultimediaAutoethnographic EssaysClimate Change Special Issue, 2022Special Issues
··13 min read"In retrospect, it was inevitable that birds and machines would converge in my work as a life-long exploration and expression of the relationship between nature and technology through the creation of avian cyborgs, the genesis of which can be traced back to my early drawings of robots and of the bygone birds of my childhood."
Shanita Mitchell and Marlen Harrison·
All ContentAutoethnographic Art & MultimediaMorePodcastsReflections on MethodVolume 3, Issue 2 (2023)
··18 min readToday we're talking with the award-winning author, researcher, and performer, Shanita Mitchell about performance and autoethnography.
"First and foremost, one has to have the belief that if he builds the field, the major players are going to show up for the game. What has most surprised and moved me, however, has been the showing up. Indeed, folks have been showing up each week since the project's inception in late May."
"From dancing at New York’s Metropolitan Opera to the Cow Palace in San Francisco, every venue taught me valuable lessons."
Narrating Estrangement is written by those who have decided to distance themselves from, or have been driven out by, their families.
FROM OUR ARCHIVES
autoethnographer: one who uses lived experience as evidence with which to explore cultural phenomena.
What is autoethnography? The AutoEthnographer's international team of editors offer definitions & suggested readings.
“The AutoEthnographer is an award-winning, non-profit, open-access, peer-reviewed literary and arts magazine dedicated to presenting the creative side of autoethnography, a qualitative research method uniting ethnography and autobiography that utilizes lived experience as evidence with which to explore cultural phenomena." ISSN: 2833-1400
AUTOETHNOGRAPHIC WRITING
AUTOETHNOGRAPHIC POETRY
AUTOETHNOGRAPHIC WRITING
Terry Graff·
All ContentAutoethnographic Art & MultimediaAutoethnographic EssaysAutoethnographic WritingClimate Change Special Issue, 2022Special Issues
··15 min read"As the world’s bird populations decline precipitously, will the many winged creatures we knew as children live only in the mists of memory?"
In a single paragraph that represents one long thought, “I’d say I was a runner” explores the act of running as a form of self-therapy.
This is from the experience of losing someone who you thought would be a part of your family, only to realize their journey was different.
AUTOETHNOGRAPHIC MULTIMEDIA
Daze Jefferies·
All ContentAutoethnographic Art & MultimediaAutoethnographic PoetryClimate Change Special Issue, 2022Special Issues
··3 min read"This autoethnographic poem resembles a wave: coming, going, history, hereafter...an endless exchange."
Vivian Wagner·
All ContentAutoethnographic Art & MultimediaAutoethnographic PoetryClimate Change Special Issue, 2022Special Issues
··8 min read“We noticed signs of climate change and felt a sense of impending doom, even as we witnessed how human beings across the continent are trying to keep alive a sense of culture, art, and kindness.”
Overall, "Little Red" encompasses queerness, womanhood, and the implications of growing into an identity that isn't cherished by society.
"Everybody is a poet in the sense that everyone was/is making do—and making magic—with what they had/have."
In this work, I unpack how realizing my queerness has influenced how I write my poetry.
This sestina poem reflects and validates my own personal experience as a 14-year-old who was dealing with something I couldn’t initially even name; anxiety.
"One way to reach broader audiences is to embrace creative nonfiction and use storytelling as academic writing."
U. Melissa Anyiwo·
All ContentAutoethnographic EssaysCelebrating Dr. Patricia Leavy's Social Fiction 2024MoreReflections on MethodSpecial Issues
··31 min readThis piece is intended to give you a sense of the ways in which I use Low-Fat Love in the classroom and why just using it makes the world a better place.
Shanita Mitchell and Marlen Harrison·
All ContentAutoethnographic Art & MultimediaMorePodcastsReflections on MethodVolume 3, Issue 2 (2023)
··18 min readToday we're talking with the award-winning author, researcher, and performer, Shanita Mitchell about performance and autoethnography.
"This is my childhood memory of realizing the power of laughter when everything interior and exterior makes me scared."
Humor acts as a defense mechanism, a pressure release valve, a teaching tool. As a heart surgeon, I have used laughter for all these reasons.
Patricia Leavy·
All ContentAutoethnographic EssaysCelebrating Dr. Patricia Leavy's Social Fiction 2024Special Issues
··6 min readStory-worlds were magical—they transported me to different places where I’d meet new people, and learn about their lives in visceral ways.
NEWS, INTERVIEWS & REVIEWS
"Dr. Nadine Khair discusses why autoethnography is essential to successful businesses in this latest podcast."
"The AutoEthnographer is excited to announce the 2022 International Symposium on Autoethnography and Narrative (ISAN), a fully online conference. The conference will occur via Zoom on January 2-5, 2022."
Editor Guillermo Gil's latest book review - The Autofictional: Approaches, Affordances, Forms - explores definitions and uses of autofictional writing.
SPECIAL ISSUES
EDUCATION, INTERVIEWS, PODCASTS, & REVIEWS
REFLECTIONS ON METHOD
