Work

Moments of Silence: Ethics and Harm in Autoethnography

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: This paper explores ethical pitfalls and potential harms that arise in autoethnography. I use evocative autoethnographic writing to reflect upon my experiences undertaking a research project on social and natural isolation in Orkney and Svalbard (2001-2002). This project involved a commitment for me to remain silent and not speak for six months. On the basis of these reflections, I discuss problems concerning the impossibility of acquiring free consent and the potential for autoethnography to produce and reproduce harms. I analyse these problems as deriving from the fact that in autoethnography, the researcher and the research subject are the same person. I give suggestions for ways of mitigating harm and conclude by advancing the need for better appreciation of ethical treatment of the autoethnographic subject.

Source: Folk, knowledge, place.

DOI: 10.24043/001c.125287

Author: Adam Grydehøj

Institution: South China University of Technology

Language: English

Topic: Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Funders: Guangdong Office of Philosophy and Social Science, National Social Science Fund of China

Awards: G2484906968, G4211634181