“Writing With Not About: Constellating Stories in Auto-ethnography”

The questions of how and why to do autoethnography in rhetoric and composition, particularly in trauma-related research, remain under-discussed. In this presentation, I will share the story of how my research into human trafficking led me down a journey of reflexivity. In so doing, I will merge cultural rhetorics methodologies with that of critical auto/ethnography, arguing for “constellational autoethnography” and highlighting the role and value of such an approach within the rhetoric and composition field.

John Gagnon is an Assistant Professor in the English Department at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. He is a cultural rhetorician interested in the rhetorical framing of human rights issues, and is particularly interested in the role rhetorical scholarship can play in developing new ways of understanding how we think about trauma and exploitation. His recent work has focused on refining more ethical approaches to research methodologies around such issues. He has published in Poroi, Present Tense, Interdisciplinary Humanities, and the Journal of War Crimes, Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity, among other academic journals.

Event Sponsor
Center for Biographical Research, Mānoa Campus

More Information
(808) 956-3774, biograph@hawaii.edu, http://www.facebook.com/CBRHawaii

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