Autoethnography
I use Autoethnography as a framework to investigate my Postmemories of the 1947 Partition and the experiences of my parents, grandparents and extended family. Autoethnography as a term was introduced by anthropologist Karl G. Heider, who used his study of the Dani people (Chang 2016: 46). Bram Arnold defines Autoethnography in his doctoral thesis as “an approach to research and writing that has developed as a distinct methodology within the field of ethnography” (2016: 21). Arnold references Denzin and Lincoln that, “Autoethnography is a methodology that has developed during the past two decades as a branch of ethnography, where ethnography can be defined as the objective study of a defined social group other to that of the observer” (2016: 22). Within my context, it becomes how I narrate my family’s and Muslim community’s cultural and geographical background as the migrants of the Partition. I reflect on my family’s stories and connect them to a wider cultural landscape, exploring how creative practices can shape shared catharsis to release the traumatic past. Applying Autoethnography I investigate how to use my creative practice to give form to sufferings caused by my own and shared Postmemories of the Partition. My family’s circumstances inform me to understand the larger social and cultural impacts of the 1947 Partition. David Butz and Kathryn Besio describe in their article ‘Autoethnography’ that, “researchers use themselves as their own primary research subjects, as they strive to understand some aspect of the world that involves but exceeds themselves” (2009: 1665).
Autoethnography is the combination of autobiography and ethnography, a method that processes and produces information about self and culture; it is a tool to understand one’s own cultural values, background and experiences (Ellis, Adams, Bochner 2011: 3). Ellis, Adams and Bochner argue that “a researcher uses tenets of autobiography and ethnography to do and write Autoethnography. Thus, as a method, Autoethnography is both process and product” (2011: 1). Daved Wachsman defines Autoethnography as “a form of self-reflection and writing that explores the researcher's personal experiences and connects this autobiographical story to wider cultural-political and social meanings and understandings” (2013).
Autoethnography is a powerful tool for researchers: it offers a non-intrusive method of research; it amplifies the cultural understandings of self and others and it inspires self and others to build up cross-cultural unity (Chang 2016: 52). Chang further writes, “methodologically speaking, autoethnography is researcher-friendly. This inquiry method allows researchers easy access to the primary data source from the beginning because the source is the researchers themselves” (2016: 52). While Autoethnography draws on the researcher’s/writer’s own memories, on the other hand, ethnography investigates the informants’ memories. An Autoethnographer recognises his memories as a ‘primary source of information’ whereas an ethnographer does not mix his memories with the collected data from other sources (Chang 2016: 71).
I analyse my personal and shared Postmemories through the mirror of Autoethnography, it helps me to shape my creative practice.
Bibliography
CHANG, Heewon. 2016. Autoethnography as Method. Routledge.
ARNOLD, Bram. 2016. Walking Home: The path as transect in an 800km autoethnographic enquiry. PhD Thesis, University of the Arts London and Falmouth University.
BUTZ, David and Kathryn BESIO. 2009. ‘Autoethnography’. Geography Compass 3(5), 1660-74.
ELLIS, Carolyn, Tony E. ADAMS and Arthur P. BOCHNER. 2011. ‘Autoethnography: An Overview’. Forum Qualitative Social Research Volume 12, No. 1. Available at: https://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/1589/3095 [accessed 19 September 2022].
Collinsdictionary.com. 2013. ‘Autoethnography’. Available at: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/submission/10957/Autoethnography [accessed 29 October 2022].