Postgraduate Course: Autoethnographic Research Methods in the Social Sciences (CNST11079)
Course Outline
| School | School of Health in Social Science |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Available to all students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Credits | 20 |
| Home subject area | Counselling Studies |
Other subject area | None |
| Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | This interdisciplinary course will provide a systematic and critical introduction to autoethnography. It will introduce students to the theoretical foundations for this type of work, the range of approaches available, and to specific issues that arise in autoethnography, including matters of ethics. Participants will critically engage with the ways in which autoethnographic texts both critique and illuminate the situated self, in socio-cultural contexts. Finally, threaded throughout the course will be opportunities to experiment with, discuss, and give and receive feedback on, autoethnographic writing. |
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | Students should have passed BCR1, Research Skills in the Social Science, or another introductory PG research course that provides an overview of debates about qualitative research approaches. |
| Additional Costs | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? | No |
Course Delivery Information
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| Delivery period: 2014/15 Semester 2, Available to all students (SV1)
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Learn enabled: Yes |
Quota: None |
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Web Timetable |
Web Timetable |
| Course Start Date |
12/01/2015 |
| Breakdown of Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
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| Additional Notes |
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| Breakdown of Assessment Methods (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
1. To introduce students to a range of approaches to autoethnography as a vehicle for researching personal and social life and to the theoretical understandings that underpin them.
2. To increase students¿ capacity to analyze how different approaches to autoethnography relate to different ontological and epistemological positions.
3. To enable students to engage with the debates surrounding the use of autoethnography in social science research, exploring the position of autoethnography as an interdisciplinary research genre and as a legitimate site for inquiry into the interplay between selves, identities and cultures.
4. To enable students to develop a critically informed appreciation of creative and evocative research studies of 'lived experience'.
5. To prepare students to employ autoethnography in/as their own research. |
Assessment Information
Assessment will consist of a 4000-4500 word critical autoethnographic study that draws on and addresses the issues and debates raised during the course. The study will include a discussion of the limitations of this method, the possible practical and ethical issues that arise, and ways in which the student proposes to deal with these issues in her/his continuing research. The study may integrate these aspects into a single essay or be in two parts: a) the autoethnographic essay (2500-2750 words) and b) critical reflections (1500-1750 words).
Formative assessment will be offered through student and tutor feedback on writing shared during the course (see Approaches to Learning above).
Feedback on the course and on the learning experience will be sought through written mid-course and end of course evaluations, and through review discussions, during and following the course, with both students and, where relevant, guest tutors.
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Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
Not entered |
| Transferable skills |
Not entered |
| Reading list |
Holman Jones, S., Adams, T., & Ellis, C. (Eds.). (2013). Handbook of autoethnography. Walnut Creek: Left Coast.
Adams, T. E. (2006). Seeking father: relationally reframing a troubled love story. Qualitative Inquiry, 12(4), 704-723.
Gannon, S. (2006). The (im)possibilities of writing the self-writing: French poststructural theory and autoethnography. Cultural Studie <=> Critical Methodologies, 6(4), 474-495.
Russell, L. (2004). A long way toward compassion. Text and Performance Quarterly, 24(3), 233-254.
Spry, T. (2010). Call it swing: A jazz blues autoethnography. Cultural Studies <=> Critical Methodologies, 10(4), 271-282.
Lee, K. V. (2005). Neuroticism: end of a doctoral dissertation. Qualitative Inquiry, 11(6), 933-938.
Spry, T. (2011). Performative autoethnography: Critical embodiments and possibilities. In N.K. Denzin & Y.S. Lincoln (Eds.). The Sage handbook of qualitative research, pp. 497-509. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Tamas, S. (2011). Autoethnography, ethics, and making your baby cry. Cultural Studies<=>Critical Methodologies, 11(3), 258-264.
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| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Approaches will take the form of pre-session reading, seminar and small group discussion, lecture, and peer and tutor feedback on students¿ writing (and the concomitant building of a course environment that makes this a productive and positive experience).
The primary tutor will be the course organiser, drawing, where possible and relevant, from others within the School and College.
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| Keywords | Autoethnographic Research Methods Social Science |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Jonathan Wyatt
Tel: (0131 6)51 3974
Email: Jonathan.Wyatt@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Alexandra Dickson
Tel: (0131 6)50 3890
Email: Alex.Dickson@ed.ac.uk |
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