Out of the blue and into it: Autoethnography, emotions and complicated grief

Abstract

Autoethnography can be an appropriate method for researching complex emotional experiences. However, the highly self-reflexive processes involved in mining personal data are subject to a set of cultural feeling and display rules, which obscure and interfere with emotional engagement. To illustrate this, we present one author’s account of using autoethnography to research traumatic bereavement. We critically revisit three myths about the method: one negative (autoethnography is narcissistically self-indulgent) and two positive (autoethnographic techniques are therapeutic and autoethnographic writing is authentic). Observing some parallels between topic and method, we suggest that both are complicated and non-linear, following convoluted paths. Autoethnographic tales may defy the social rules of verbal tellability, failing to reveal personal insights or offer moral lessons. We conclude that, while we can admire the autoethnographic endeavour towards ‘heartfelt’ scholarship, this should be tempered by a cautiousness about the costs of digging deep.

Qualitative research methods I: Emotionally engaged approaches to working with vulnerable participants

“…There can be isolation and guilt for the researcher at the end of a project, while participants are left to continue in precarity, in pain (Dempsey, 2018; Jordan and Moser, 2020; Keyel, 2021; Lewis, 2017; Wimark et al, 2017; Zonjić, 2021). The hyper-reflexivity associated with some qualitative methods such as ethnography, can be an ‘intensely demanding form of emotional labour, which can take its toll on researcher well-being’ (Akehurst and Scott, 2021: 2–3). As Adeagbo (2021: 189–90) notes, ‘it takes a lot of willpower and preparation not to get caught up in the emotions, despite being human, when participants share their sensitive stories’.…”

“…Feminist geographers, therefore, have called for ‘emotionally engaged research’ to recognise, manage and work with the ‘emotional turbulence’ that can arise in the field (Akehurst and Scott, 2021: 12; see also Aroussi, 2020; Brankamp, 2021; McGarrol, 2017). The importance of taking emotions seriously is highlighted in Brankamp’s (2021) work with refugees in Kenya, arguing that despite their often fleeting nature, emotions and affect are key to understanding the complex fabric of refugee camps.…”

“…There is little reflection on what lists of privilege mean in terms of emotions associated with those privileges, nor discussion of past trajectories and dispositions that inform them. To embed reflexivity within emotionally engaged research still requires recognition of the ‘social and cultural scaffolding’ within which subjectivities are embedded (Akehurst and Scott, 2021: 12). As Hui (2020: 760) contends, geographers need to ensure critical reflexivity is placed within the context of ‘the suffering, contradictions and ironies of human lives’.…”

“…Yet while the studies noted above highlight the benefits of emotionally engaged research with vulnerable participants, there is a need to take care with the claims we make. Several studies note that their work has the potential to be ‘transformative’ (Baker et al, 2020), ‘empowering’ (Akehurst and Scott, 2021; Zonjić, 2021), ‘liberating’ (Townsend and Cushion, 2021), ‘justice making’ (Aroussi, 2020; see also Hammoud-Beckett, 2021), but there is little critique of the extent to which we can make such claims (Cuthbert, 2021). Research is often transitory in nature and where participants note the benefits of their involvement within a cathartic or catalytic space, more evidence is needed of long term impact (Zimmermann and Forstmeier, 2020).…”

Investigating vicarious trauma: dramaturgical challenges for qualitative research

“…There is so much of my father in me that I will never be able to forget anything that happened. (House, 1987, p. 38) Display rules around family ties involve ritual protocol (Akehurst and Scott, 2021) as well as notions of situational propriety (Goffman, 1963). For example, a person experiencing traumatic bereavement may appear strangely at ease or even happy.…”