Wait a second. I am sure you are already feeling slightly confused after reading this title the same way I felt learning about what an autoethnography is and what that might even mean. Autoethnography is a large word, but when you break it apart piece by piece it seems to become more manageable to make meaning of. For clarification, an autoethnography is type of qualitative research where an individual self reflects and writes to explore their personal experiences as a means to connect their autobiographical story to a wider cultural, political, and social meanings and understanding. In this method of the research, the researcher becomes the primary subject of the research (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). Now that we have a clearer understanding of what this word means, we can begin to understand its context in the art classroom.
Jeremy Blair, art educator, used autoethnographies in his classroom with his students through the use of stop motion animation. Animation is the frame by frame photographic process in which the illusion of movement is created. To begin, students asked themselves questions that focused their self-directed research, such as “Which one of my socially constructed flaws do I embrace?” and “What makes me feel most vulnerable?”. They then wrote stories which captured the essence of these questions. When students created their stop motion animations, they were required to consider the subtly of the specific personal narratives they evaluated since stop motion is captured by significantly short instances. In doing so, they were able to find answers to these questions within the subtly. Once students completed the assignment, they shared them with the class. Students showed signs which confirmed that they were able to connect, relate, and empathize with other students. Through reflexive dialogue, students were able to create a stop motion animation that offered new ideas of self-perception and self-concept.
Using an artistic form, such as stop motion animation, for autoethnographies can help students disassemble themselves and dissect personal narrative. Students learn to celebrate error, confess incompleteness, express regret, exhibit imperfection, and embrace not knowing. Additionally, this allows the establishment of compassionate classroom communities. Blair sums it up best himself when he states that “Autoethnography has the capacity to provoke viewers to broaden their horizons, reflect critically on experiences, enter empathically into the lives of others, and actively participate in dialogue regarding the social implications of the encountered (Ellis and Bochner, 2000)” (Blair, 12). All around, art and autoethnography seem to work well as a combination to create sound discoveries about one’s self and others. Although, autoethnography may have seemed like a slightly overwhelming term at the beginning of this article, understanding the complexity of one’s self parallels to this long words roots.
SOURCE: Animated Autoethnographies: Stop Motion Animation as a Tool for Self-Inquiry and Personal Evaluation by Jeremy Michael Blair. 2014.
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