Academic Writing: Introduction to Autoethnography

Welcome to a beginner’s course that opens the door to autoethnographic academic writing.

This is a workshop designed for those who are new to the genre, and we will explore how the combination of personal stories and academic research can provide new insights into both theory and professional practice.

Through clear explanations and interactive activities, we will learn the basics of creating autoethnographic texts, and discuss criteria for assessing the quality of such works.

The workshop is offered in collaboration with the research group DEMCI and The Childism Institute UiS, and is open to students, early career researchers or anyone who wants to update their knowledge of qualitative research methods.

Where: Dataverkstedet, Kjølv Egelands hus, campus Ullandhaug.

Language: English.

No registration is required.

Autoethnographic Academic Writing

Autoethnographic academic writing is a way of writing where you use your own experiences and lessons to understand something bigger about the world. Imagine that you are writing a story about something you have experienced, for example the first time you learned to ride a bike. But instead of just telling the story, you also think about why this experience was important, how it says something about you and perhaps also about others who have learned to ride a bike.

In academic writing, this means that you are not only writing about yourself, but also connecting your experiences to research, theory and larger ideas. It is like using your own story as a door opener to understand something bigger – for example how people learn new things, how fears can be overcome, or how family and friends help us in life.

Autoethnography is a way of writing that is both about yourself and about the world around you, while using research and reflection to understand things better.

About Tanu

Facilitator: Tanu Biswas

Tanu Biswas is a philosopher who works with intergenerational relations at the intersections of education, pedagogy, climate justice, decoloniality and qualitative methods. Her work uses lived experience as a method of theorizing. She works as an associate professor of pedagogy at the University of Stavanger.

The workshop is organized by the University Library.