Blog 2 — Autoethnography

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Autoethnography is similar to an autobiography, or basically is the same. Autoethnography is just the method in which takes place when writing, the way in which the author write his/her autobiography. It is a way to describe their personal experiences and life journeys in a somewhat systematical order depending on cultural, political and social meanings and understandings. It is both the process and the product of an autobiography.

How an autoethnography works is the author combines the characteristics from an autobiography and an ethnography into one — for example, an autobiography is a memoir of and individual’s life experiences in the past; usually when the author is writing their autobiography, he/she does not necessarily have to go through said life experiences but rather it can portray how they have lived their life in the past. A common feature that authors write about in autobiographies are ‘epiphanies,’ these are the moments in the author’s life that made a certain impact whether positively, negatively, or both.

Ethnography on the other hand is something different, it studies a culture’s practices, common values and beliefs as well as shared experiences with the sole purpose of educating both the people who are from the culture and those who are not part of the culture. Usually, ethnographers indulge themselves within the culture itself to better their knowledge on a personal level thus being able to write and take notes about their experiences like; obstacles they face or practices they did. If not participants of these cultural practices, these ethnographers may seek out those members of the culture and conduct interviews, they would examine their way of life; like how they communicate with one another as well as where and how they live.

Now when you put the two words together it becomes autoethnography, they select specific epiphanies that originated from a culture then organise them chronologically and analyse. Autoethnographers typically use a quantitative and more methodological way of collecting the data although, the use of qualitative research is largely used as well. They use personal experiences to help construct the foundation of a culture, that being — relatable to both those who are members of the culture and even members that are outside of the culture. In a way an autoethnography is both personal and educational on a different kind of level as compared to both an autobiography or an ethnography respectively — it combines both characteristics to create a different product.

References:

1. Ellis, C., Adams, T. E., & Bochner, A. P. (n.d.). Autoethnography: An Overview. Retrieved from http://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/1589/3096