August 2

In this workshop, we will first offer an overview of autoethnography as an approach for doing social research. We will then foreground the benefits of autoethnography in knowledge creation as well as in coping with the circumstances in which we all find ourselves. This workshop will include examples of autoethnography as well as provide opportunities for you to identify and experiment with ways to incorporate autoethnography into your research and life.

Autoethnography makes our selves, relationships, and culture visible and tangible. By writing evocatively and personally through and around difficult situations, we strive to cultivate compassion, generate catharsis, and promote progressive ways of using our research and storytelling to build knowledge and encourage love and care for self and other.

This workshop will be of interest to novice and advanced students and researchers seeking to delve into academic research in autoethnography. It also will speak to practitioners working in trauma, therapy, healthcare, and grief and loss, as well as the general public seeking to live productive and caring lives in the middle of current-day chaos and trauma.