International Conference of Autoethnography, Zoom (!) 20th-21st July 2020

Tim Buescher writes:

This year has been rather different for all of us in many ways. Lockdown, travel restrictions, increased workloads and caring duties have made meeting up difficult for all of us and an academic conference sounds like an impossibility. Or so it seemed in February when the steering committee for the International Conference of Autoethnography (formerly the British International Conference of Autoethnography) had to admit that we wouldn’t be gathering in Bristol for the 7th annual conference this year. 

However, we agreed to look at moving the thing online and relaunching/announcing this through the twitter account @_ICAE_. It has been an eye-opening experience to see people from as far afield as Kazakhstan, Aruba, Brazil, Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, Norway, Chile, Turkey and various US states come together online for two days and share autoethnographic work in a wide variety of styles on a wide range of topics from an array of disciplines.

The theme for this year was Reclamation:

The process or act of claiming something back; of reasserting a right Restoration, regeneration, recapture, recovery, repossession or retrieval Reclamation as an act of telling a continuing narrative with what is salvaged from the wreckage of crisis. Something new.

Paraphrased from Barker and Buchannan-Barker, 2003

Panels included surviving lockdown, stories of survival/loss/reclaiming self, Reclaiming voices through poetic and lyrical understandings, Black motherhood /girlhood/womanhood, Methodological challenges and insights, Disrupted and problematic bodies, and many others.

The full programme is available here:

A YouTube channel has been established to curate some of the presentations including keynotes from Sophie Tamas and David Carless and the lifetime contribution award, which went to Alec Grant. You can access the channel here.

Many attendees spoke of how the online format allowed them to contribute in a way which would be financially impossible in a traditional setting, a serious consideration in thinking about decolonising academic institutions. The whole thing has been exhausting, but so very rewarding.

‘What about me?’ The cross-disciplinary group facilitating writing the self and autoethnography

Chris Westoby, Ros Masamha and Tim Buescher write:

‘What about me?’ was established earlier this year as a space for colleagues interested in writing the self – academically, artistically, therapeutically – to meet, share work and discuss which directions they wish to take their ideas.

Throughout summer we have ran monthly sessions, and it has proven to be a comfortable, inspiring and supportive space to share ideas and reflections concerning writing the self. We saw an attendance from every corner of the university, working in entirely different disciplines, approaching writing the self in different ways, and for different purposes.

Now, we’re excited to continue this momentum and invite any and all academics and post-graduate researchers from every department – whether writing the self/autoethnography is an element of your research, or if it exists outside of it in a separate pursuit or purely personal practice.

Each session will invite a speaker to present their angle on writing, perhaps sharing their unique research methodologies, their personal investment, or the work of an author who inspires their practice. We will have time for group discussions, and most importantly time to write in a safe space. In the first session, Ros Masamha is presenting on Scholarly Personal Narratives: challenging methodologies in academia and academic writing.

With marking rolling in in January, it’s a busy time; taking two hours to focus purely on one’s self is more vital than ever, before needing to focus elsewhere!

Come along on 8th January, 13:00-15:00. The venue is Nidd Boardroom, complete with a selection of biscuits.

Developing autoethnography at Hull

Dear FHS colleagues

A few of us at UoH got together recently to talk about our shared interest in autoethnography. A small group but we wondered if there were more people on and around campus who might be interested in exploring this approach to inquiry and writing with a view to developing a community. To this end, we are planning to put on a workshop to introduce and explore autoethnography with those interested. I would like to get a rough estimate of the numbers in FHS for venue and biscuit planning purposes (yes, there will be biscuits). Please do let me know if you are using or contemplating autoethnography in your work or if you are just interested in finding out about it and would like to attend. For anyone wishing to find out more now, Ellis et al (2011) is not a bad place to start.

Best wishes

Tim

Dr. Timothy Buescher

Dearne 217

Ext: 4664