How Do We Craft Autoethnography? A Modest Review

Authors

Niroj Dahal, Kathmandu University School of Education, Lalitpur, NepalFollow

Abstract

I am writing this review as an essential reading for readers and writers of the book—Crafting Autoethnography: Processes and Practices of Making Self and Culture, edited by Jackie Goode, Karen Lumsden, and Jan Bradford, which explores the art of crafting autoethnography (Goode et al., 2023). As a novice autoethnographer, I have grappled with challenges and explored borders while shaping my narrative as a self-narrator of autoethnographic writing. So, in this review, I have attempted to engage readers by offering the invitation, encouraging initial reading as entry to the book, subsequent re-entry, and eventual exit as my evaluation of the book. This book resonates with me, emphasizing the significance of writing our lives and stories, developing self-awareness through performative, philosophical, and artistic writing, and shaping our identity—advocacy and transformation. Through diverse perspectives—from sociology to the visual arts—the contributors of the book illuminate their processes, inviting novice and veteran autoethnographers to write to explore the intricate craft of autoethnography.

Keywords

crafting, autoethnography, narrative, self-narrator, lives and stories

Author Bio(s)

Niroj Dahal (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7646-1186), works at Kathmandu University School of Education under the Department of STEAM Education. He also serves as an editorial board member of TQR. His research interests include ICT in education, artificial intelligence (AI), generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), qualitative research—action research, participatory action research, appreciative inquiry, arts-based inquiry, autoethnography, narrative inquiry, case study, content analysis, critical ethnography, critical social theories inquiry, decolonizing methodologies, decolonizing autoethnography, thematic analysis, narrative analysis, and collaborative inquiry (among others), mathematics education, open, distance & e-learning, STEAM education, research and development, and ICT & e-Research. Mr. Dahal has been teaching graduate and undergraduate students for over the past two decades. He has also been continuously taking part and presenting his research and practices in more than four dozen national and international conferences, workshops, and seminars. He has published articles, research notes, commentary, editorials, book reviews, books, and book chapters in various national and international journals and publication presses in ICT, qualitative research, education in general and mathematics education, and STEAM education. He may be contacted by e-mail at niroj@kusoed.edu.np.

Acknowledgements

I extend this review to readers, both novice and veteran writers and researchers, who appreciate its significance in crafting autoethnographic writing. My gratitude goes to editors Jackie Goode, Karen Lumsden, and Jan Bradford, as well as the contributing authors, for presenting this invaluable book, Crafting Autoethnography: Processes and Practices of Making Self and Culture, in the scholarship.

Publication Date

4-5-2024

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2024.7218

Recommended APA Citation

Dahal, N. (2024). How Do We Craft Autoethnography? A Modest Review. The Qualitative Report, 29(4), 1030-1037. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2024.7218

ORCID ID

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7646-1186

ResearcherID

AEK-2733-2022