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Ethnographic Alternatives
The Ethnographic I: A Methodological Novel about Autoethnography (Ethnographic Alternatives Book 13)
A methodological textbook on autoethnography should be easily distinguishable from the standard methods text. Carolyn Ellis, the leading proponent of these methods, does not disappoint. She weaves both methodological advice and her own personal stories into an intriguing narrative about a fictional graduate course she instructs. In it, you learn about her students and their projects and understand the wide array of topics and strategies that fall under the label autoethnography. Through Ellis's interactions with her students, you are given useful strategies for conducting a study, including the need for introspection, the struggles of the budding ethnographic writer, the practical problems in explaining results of this method to outsiders, and the moral and ethical issues that get raised in this intimate form of research. Anyone who has taken or taught a course on ethnography will recognize these issues and appreciate Ellis's humanistic, personal, and literary approach toward incorporating them into her work. A methods text or a novel? The Ethnographic 'I' answers yes to both.
673 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 27, 2003
21 people are currently reading
186 people want to read
About the author
Carolyn Ellis
28 books12 followersCarolyn Ellis is an interdisciplinary scholar and qualitative researcher, widely regarded as an originator and developer of autoethnography, a reflexive approach to research, writing, and storytelling that connects the autobiographical and personal to the cultural, social, and political.
She is a Distinguished University Professor at the University of South Florida and an Honorary Professor at the Communication University of China. She served as President of the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction and is a founding member of the Ethnography Division in the National Communication Association and the Section on Emotions in the American Sociological Association. Among her publications are a documentary film, five monographs, six edited books, and more than 150 articles, book chapters, and essays on autoethnography, ethnography, compassionate and interactive interviewing, research ethics, death and dying, minor bodily stigmas, caregiving, intimate relationships, health and illness, and research with Holocaust survivors.[4][5] Ellis retired from the University of South Florida in 2018.
She is a Distinguished University Professor at the University of South Florida and an Honorary Professor at the Communication University of China. She served as President of the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction and is a founding member of the Ethnography Division in the National Communication Association and the Section on Emotions in the American Sociological Association. Among her publications are a documentary film, five monographs, six edited books, and more than 150 articles, book chapters, and essays on autoethnography, ethnography, compassionate and interactive interviewing, research ethics, death and dying, minor bodily stigmas, caregiving, intimate relationships, health and illness, and research with Holocaust survivors.[4][5] Ellis retired from the University of South Florida in 2018.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
November 15, 2010
Really interesting exploration of autoethnography - actually a textbook written as a novel, as the chapters are organised according to the topic of each class, and each goes into detail about different methods, approaches, ethical issues, genres. But by creating characters and including her own personal reflections as their tutor, the process and problems and benefits of this type of inquiry are much more easily understood by the reader.
Some of the dialogue falls a bit flat though, often feeling rehearsed. I would have preferred maybe straight transcription, warts and all, rather than a very staged and scripted q&a type dialogue. This being the only fault, I think the book is invaluable to anyone interested in more radical and personal ways of 'doing' sociology and social enquiry; moving away from strict empiricism and exploring, rather than covering up, the effect of the author's own subjectivity in their work.
Some of the dialogue falls a bit flat though, often feeling rehearsed. I would have preferred maybe straight transcription, warts and all, rather than a very staged and scripted q&a type dialogue. This being the only fault, I think the book is invaluable to anyone interested in more radical and personal ways of 'doing' sociology and social enquiry; moving away from strict empiricism and exploring, rather than covering up, the effect of the author's own subjectivity in their work.
November 4, 2015
I really enjoyed this book overall, and it helped me to gain a better understanding of autoethnography and the ethical implications of this methodology. It was dialogue intensive with narrative writing, and it was a nice balance between academic discourse and the storytelling style of novels. I think parts of it could have been condensed, but overall, I got a lot out of reading it. I feel encouraged to write more autoethnographic pieces. It makes sense that I would gravitate toward a methodology that is a blend of literature, psychology, and sociology. It also does a good job of addressing some of the critiques of autoethnography. It is more introspective, but if it's done well, it helps people to think more deeply about their own introspection and themselves as related to sociocultural issues. Also, it can be therapeutic to write, as I am already finding.
May 30, 2017
Notes from thesis:
Finding oneself defined as something or other by way of place impacts not only how one sees oneself but also the ways in which one navigates the world. Such is one of the purposes of autoethnography, for it provides a way of understanding who we are in the world, how we relate to the world, and how we want to live our lives (Ellis, 2013). And such is the genre of “autobiographical writing and research” about the “personal and its relationship to culture” and which “displays multiple layers of consciousness” (Ellis, 2004, p. 37).
Delving into reflexive inquiry in a manner that engages the details of lived experience has the potential not only to change the way one feels about what one thinks one knows, but also to change one’s stories (Ellis, 2009).
Finding oneself defined as something or other by way of place impacts not only how one sees oneself but also the ways in which one navigates the world. Such is one of the purposes of autoethnography, for it provides a way of understanding who we are in the world, how we relate to the world, and how we want to live our lives (Ellis, 2013). And such is the genre of “autobiographical writing and research” about the “personal and its relationship to culture” and which “displays multiple layers of consciousness” (Ellis, 2004, p. 37).
Delving into reflexive inquiry in a manner that engages the details of lived experience has the potential not only to change the way one feels about what one thinks one knows, but also to change one’s stories (Ellis, 2009).
August 16, 2013
This book took me a while, because I simply didn’t have time to read, due to work. Anyway, I loved this book! It’s written in a really excellent way, made me involved in the story and I’ve made tons of notes from the book. I’m also an anthropologist, working with autoethnography, so this book was wonderful addition to my knowledge. Carolyn Ellis seems to be an amazing scholar as well. Being in her class would be great :) This book moved me in many ways and it made me think a lot about how research should be done. So this is a really great read! :)
November 12, 2017
the most engaging book I ever read about—gasp—a research methodology.
August 8, 2020
This is it! This is what I’m meant to do! Thank you Dr. Esping for putting this book into my hands! So many feels, thought-provoking moments, reflexive time, not to mention research ideas.
November 18, 2024
A must-read for autoethnographers or those interested in autoethnography methodology
October 22, 2011
I appreciate the author's effort to make research methods and ethics more accessible to novice scholars. Unfortunately, the attempt fell flat. There seemed too much attention to making it a "novel," when the text was not about characters. The characters (a mix of composite and actual people) were used as a vehicle to explain the history, methods and challenges of doing autoethnographic work, but more often than not, writing "through" them got in the way of the very information the author was trying to get across. It was stiff and stilted, and eventually I gave up reading it as a novel.
In a moment of frustration, I turned to the table of contents and located a chapter and subheading of interest. Voila! Treating the work as a traditional textbook or reference book proved much more useful. Dr. Ellis' writing is clear, easy to understand, and full of helpful information. Informative gems once hidden in "I look down at the notes prepared on the issue" and "Jack raises his eyebrows showing interest in the conversation," now easily came to the forefront. I hopped around from section to section, finding the information I wanted contextualized by the human interactions.
Having read through the text in this way, I still get the impression that autoethnography might be a good method for me, although I don't have a deep enough understanding to be sure. I'll need to read some examples of it, and thanks to Dr. Ellis' extensive notes, I know where to start.
I would strongly recommend that readers begin with the front matter and Class One to get a feel for the text, then skim and skip around as needed. It does not work as a novel, but I do think it's a helpful text for someone who is completely new to autoethnography and needs a quick introduction to the basics.
In a moment of frustration, I turned to the table of contents and located a chapter and subheading of interest. Voila! Treating the work as a traditional textbook or reference book proved much more useful. Dr. Ellis' writing is clear, easy to understand, and full of helpful information. Informative gems once hidden in "I look down at the notes prepared on the issue" and "Jack raises his eyebrows showing interest in the conversation," now easily came to the forefront. I hopped around from section to section, finding the information I wanted contextualized by the human interactions.
Having read through the text in this way, I still get the impression that autoethnography might be a good method for me, although I don't have a deep enough understanding to be sure. I'll need to read some examples of it, and thanks to Dr. Ellis' extensive notes, I know where to start.
I would strongly recommend that readers begin with the front matter and Class One to get a feel for the text, then skim and skip around as needed. It does not work as a novel, but I do think it's a helpful text for someone who is completely new to autoethnography and needs a quick introduction to the basics.
March 27, 2010
My mother sent this book to me last year and I'm finally getting to it. Lately I've been thinking about how writers' family members are affected by what is written about them, and I'm glad this book will address that issue head-on.
3/26/10 - Unfortunately I don't like the writing style of this book, and it's making it hard to tackle. I'm stuck on page 36 and the books has 349 pages. OH DEAR.
3/26/10 - Unfortunately I don't like the writing style of this book, and it's making it hard to tackle. I'm stuck on page 36 and the books has 349 pages. OH DEAR.
February 17, 2016
I love research methodology and had never thought before that you could put it so smoothly into a novel. It is an intense reading, you need to read carefully, it is a conceptually dense book. The main character (and author) is just beuatiful... her honesty, intelligence, empathy... I simply love her. Thanks Carolyn for this great book!
August 6, 2014
Algunas cosas se aprenden mejor haciéndolas, o al menos viendo cómo se hacen, más que aplicando conceptos abstractos. Este libro es muestra de ello, qué mejor manera de explicar una metodología narrativa que de manera narrativa.
August 18, 2016
This was a book we read for our ethnography class. It's an ethnography of an ethnography class, and it provides a great look into what goes into the writing process. The ethnographies are personal and inspiring. The book was dense and took awhile to get through.
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April 2, 2024Autoethnography is exciting.
February 23, 2010
Invaluable book on autoethnography. Ellis is a genius!
December 19, 2011
This text performs what she asks ethnographers to do. It was interesting food for thought when I was writing my own autoethnography.
May 29, 2013
One of the best things I have EVER read!!!!
May 29, 2013
AMAZING!!
August 31, 2016
Innovative and challenging. The synthesis of personal writing alongside academic theorizing and methodological reflections, is quite simply revolutionary.
November 16, 2015
Ellis tries to accomplish perhaps too much in these pages and the flow is sometimes interrupted, but there are also important insights and some moments of beauty in this text
December 18, 2022
Imagine that I'm allowed to give it 4.5 stars ... well worth the read, especially if you are dabbling in autoethnographic writing.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews