Date of Award

2021

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Vesperi, Maria

Area of Concentration

Social Sciences

Abstract

Autoethnography is an emerging method of qualitative inquiry within the social sciences. Born out of ethnography and a call for increased reflexivity in research, autoethnography incorporates the researcher as a member of the community being studied. Using autoethnographic, ethnographic, oral history, and narrative research methods, I revisit moments from my past, using an individual perspective, and attempt to situate them within broader contexts. Participant interviews, presented as dialogue, are used to provide a wider lens to my own interpretations of past events. My analysis combines my positions as researcher and participant, to consider the role of family structure, class, and privilege at different points in my life thus far. The thesis invites readers to participate in the process of analysis through the use of reflection and open-ended questions, as an acknowledgment of the subjectivity involved in interpretation of lived experiences.

Download

Share

COinS