Auto-ethnographic Potentials and Challenges Essay Example
Auto-ethnographic Potentials and Challenges Essay Example

Auto-ethnographic Potentials and Challenges Essay Example

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  • Pages: 4 (1010 words)
  • Published: March 30, 2021
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Introduction

Auto-ethnography is an approach that examines and aims to analyze and describe any experience collectively, for easier comprehension of cultural experience. However, it’s very challenging as it involves researching and representing others, hence treating research as a social and political act that demands the researcher to use ethnography as a system of belief and autobiography as a directive to writing an auto-ethnography. In this emerging issue regarding auto-ethnography, we introduce a designation that draws on dual lenses of being both a healthcare giver for a family member suffering from a life-threatening disease of chronic illness and an information practice researcher.

Story and Responsibility

When ethnographers like to make texts, they try as much as they can to report and represent information that is accurately invented and constructed within the cultures. Nevertheless, their utterances in language c

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annot express anything distinct from what they are capable of doing (Laureate Education, 2013). And so, giving the notion of unmediated reality means foregoing the strong claims from other scientists and discovering things out of themselves. For that case, in realizing this, my focus as a researcher changed as I came to perceive and comprehend the powerful and personal applicability of auto-ethnography.

Responsibility as an Auto Ethnographic Writer

My responsibility as an auto ethnographic writer can represent any community as this approach provides a chance for enhanced comprehension of the contextual, embedded character of information practices through unfolding realization in the midst of illness and caregiving. In building my research around the crafting stories and from my experiences of being a caregiver, it has enabled me to make sense of the complexities of the wider context, where palliative care is important. In turn, through

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that connection, this has enriched our perception when probing the experiences of others (Dyson, 2007). Therefore, the responsibility sensitizes us to relate our experiences and thoughts to offering the richness to quench the needs of the community members. Commendably, this can be achieved through sharing our voices and stepping back during analysis to take part in disciplinary perspectives that yield more self-conscious and more analytical discernment.

The Voice of Auto Ethnography to a Larger Group

Basically, this auto-ethnography acts as an influential logical process to create evocative narratives that will gear towards illuminating other people’s perspective. It provides a yearning and a connection between our familiarities and cultural processes. Besides, a back and forth gaze to concentrate on the socio-cultural contexts provided by this auto ethnography allows an inward look at the vulnerable self. Thus, it’s an international and systematic pursuit of comprehending the self within where one takes part. But being offered an opportunity to assess and state your experiences in an auto ethnographic manner, provides articulation on the emotional-laden and highly sensitive ailments that cause death and loss (Ellis, 2004). Moreover, it can address numerous gaps in current comprehension of care giving in healthcare contexts that will aid in mitigating information practices moving beyond life-limiting and life-threating illnesses. As if that is not enough, it can reveal holistic experiences of care givers engaged on more than one role in life like a role for spouse and parents or children.

Influence of Auto Ethnography in Social Work Practice

As a form of writing like any other, auto-ethnography acts as analysis where the researcher’s role is a significant feature in producing the research. The research is focused on making

the voice of the writer to be observed in any text and perceiving the writing as a creative, analytical practice. However, all these aspirations influence our social work practices. A case in point, sometimes we measure our findings and persist on a specific moments of observation as this is the only way of remaining mindful for witnessing role that is a vital in checking and giving reports to the rising issues. Any text that incorporates distinct formats that are documented and created in literary styles generates an understandable outline that in turns bring the context, the letterings, and the vividness of the settings to the researcher (McIlveen, 2008). On the same breath, taking our forms of writing as systematic tools improves our sensitivity of diversifying our perception and realization that are amalgamated within the frameworks of our writings. Thus, in this way, the idea of putting down our ideas and experiences about our lives heightens our mindfulness as well as sensitizing our comprehension to create our narratives we devise to offer communication of our research, in turn, aid to formulating the analysis of those questions that motivates the research at the beginning. Hence, from all these influences, it’s clear that writing auto-ethnography is a process that gives us the opportunity to learn, reflect, and comprehend, and it’s, for this reason, we find it worthwhile for investigations from our mutual and collective experiences.

Challenges Faced while writing auto Ethnography

As we have sought to argue in the earlier sections of this paper, writing of and about ourselves is very challenging. For instance, you are needed to develop internal dialogues that developed during experiences whether in healthcare giving or

other introspective engagement (Hayano, 1979). To add to the point is the fact that there are unique insights with the socio-cultural context that are needed for easier collaboration while giving an analysis of the emerging auto-ethnographic process. But becoming more self-conscious about your work both empirically and aesthetically, increases awareness of the complex ideological and political agendas hidden, perhaps by having an account of illness and the vulnerabilities.

References

  1. Dyson, M. (2007). My story in a profession of stories: Auto ethnography-an empowering methodology for educators. Australian Journal of Teacher Education (Online), 32(1), 36.
  2. Ellis, C. (2004). The ethnographic I: A methodological novel about autoethnography. Rowman Altamira.
  3. Hayano, D. (1979). Auto-ethnography: Paradigms, problems, and prospects. Human organization, 38(1), 99-104.
  4. Laureate Education (Producer). (2013). Story/responsibility. Video file. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu
  5. McIlveen, P. (2008). Autoethnography as a method for reflexive research and practice in vocational psychology. Australian Journal of Career Development, 17(2), 13-20.
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