Re(2): the autobiographical impulse

Katherine Goff (Katherine_Goff who-is-at ceo.cudenver.edu)
Mon, 10 Aug 1998 15:36:33 -0600

Jay writes:
>How can we best use autobiographical accounts as "data" ? (and what are
>"data" anyway?) and how else can they contribute to the work of our
>community? by restoring the personal dimension to our inter-subjective
>accounts of the meaning-world? by helping us position ourselves along the
>more delicate dimensions of difference that meaningfully define who we are
>in relation to others? by giving us a chance to feel less alone? and more
>unique? by saying to all the world that who I am does matter to what I say
>and to the worth of what I say for others? by opening the door once again
>to legitimate ad hominem critique? by therefore also forcing us to decide
>what kinds of ad hominem critique are indeed legitimate for what purposes?
>In what ways does a life validate or subvert the value of someone's
>opinions? In what ways does it shape what are possible truths for us?

I am glad to read these questions and look forward to seeing other
responses and questions.

My research is turning toward auto-ethnography as a way to portray the
intersection of culture and the individual. My most recent paper describes
how I caught myself reproducing the cultural construct of gender as I
observed a group of children interacting around the computer center in a
second grade classroom.

I can't remember who said that social science research is more of a
reflection of the researcher's identity than any clear vision of the
object(s) of study, but isn't that only bringing the self-indulgence of
the researcher out into the open?
How is one activity that benefits me an indulgence while another is
science? Or should we consider the papal overtones of the word indulgence
as forgiveness. Am I working on forgiving myself for reproducing the
culture of oppression that I fear and hate?

kathie

(please forgive this foray into self-indulgence)

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Life's backwards,
Life's backwards,
People, turn around.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Sinead O'Connor and John Reynolds
Fire on Babylon: Universal Mother^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Katherine_Goff who-is-at ceo.cudenver.edu
http://ceo.cudenver.edu/~Katherine_Goff/index.html