94 Re is a de In es igación
Uni e sidad Tecnológica de Pe ei a
mi adas
W i ing in E hnog aphic and Au o/biog aphical App oaches: Old
and New Challenges
José González Mon eagudo1
González, M. José. mi adas N°11 – 2013. ISSN: 0122 994X. Págs 94-102
Recepción: Mayo 27 de 2013
Ap obación: No iemb e 16 de 2013
Abs ac
In his pape I conside he impo ance o w i ing in quali a i e app oaches, pa icula ly
in E hnog aphy, as well as he implica ions o he c isis o e hnog aphic ep esen a ion
in ela ion o au o/biog aphical app oaches. My pape has abo e all an explo a o y
dimension. I in end o e iew some ele an and ecen publica ions in social sciences
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quali a i e esea ch. I is e iden ha “e hnog aphe s, like many con empo a y schola s,
ha e become inc easingly p eoccupied wi h he na u e and consequences o hei ex ual
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pa adigms and I p esen some a gumen s on he c isis o ep esen a ion and he linguis ic
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discuss on sel , oice, and audience wi hin he con ex o academic and esea ch w i ing.
Finally, I discuss he implica ions o he pape o p omo ing a mo e dialogic, p oblema ic,
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Key Wo ds: Resea ch W i ing, Au o/biog aphical App oaches, Na a i e Tu n, Voice,
Audience.
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José González Mon eagudo
Re is a de In es igación
Uni e sidad Tecnológica de Pe ei a mi adas 95
In oduc ion
This pape is se wi hin he he meneu ics,
pos s uc u alis , eminis and pos mode n
ends, which ha e been con ibu ying
du ing he las 20 yea s o aise he
sel -consciousness o he unc ion o
ep esen a ion and w i en ex ( he mo e
seminal and pionnee ing an h opological
wo ks on his ques ion we e published
by Cli o d Gee z in 1988, and by James
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As Van Manen said, we need a deep
explo a ion o w i ing epis emology and
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o make i clea ha I e use ealis and
neo- ealis app oaches in social sciences,
bu also he opposi e end, consis ing in a
adical and exclusi e ex ualis pe spec i e.
The e o e, I hink ha he social wo ld has
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inc ip ion, ansc ip ion o desc ip ion.
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ex s ha pu po o desc ibe i , and he wo
should no be con used… I was w ong
o celeb a e science and igno e he o ic.
I is equally w ong simply o e e se he
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o anscend he esea che ´s oles as a
“ca og aphe o domina ion” ( he a ogan
and au ho i a ian discou se o con en ional
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o ennui” ( he adical pos mode nis
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In my pape I eso o equen ci a ions
and e e ences o ele an li e a u e. My
con ibu ion is bo h a e iew o he s a e
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discussion o au o/biog aphical me hods.
In o he wo ds, he aim o his pape
is e y modes : o a ange he lib a y
in his a ea. A he end o my pape , I
su mise abou he links be ween w i ing
in e hnog aphy and in au obiog aphically
o ien ed esea ch and eaching. Fo me
i is impo an do no o ge he eaching
dimension o li e his o ies. In his sense,
i may be use ul he pa allelism be ween
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o social ac o s and lea ne s. In esea ch,
i is p esen an educa ional ea u e and he
o he way a ound in educa ion i is p esen
a esea ch ace .
F om objec i ism o he c isis o
ep esen a ion.
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iewpoin , w i ing is me ely a neu al,
impe sonal ins umen used in o de o
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conclusions. In his domain, w i ing is no
a p oblem. Language ‘ ep esen s’ eali y.
Logical empi icism has showed a s ong
in e es owa d language and linguis ic
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been unde s ood as a igo ous language,
a sys em o ue empi ical p oposi ions.
In his end, physicalism (see Neu a h,
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e ms wich e e o spa io empo al hings
o e en s o o hei p ope ies” (Me iam-
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pe spec i e, al hough mo e open o c i ique,
is p esen in pos posi i is pe spec i es,
based on a allible ep esen a ion o eali y.
Wi h he so-called c isis o ep esen a ion
- a o ed by pos s uc u alis , pos mode nis ,
eminis and decons uc ionis app oaches-
academic and esea ch w i ing (as well as
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impo an issue. G. Ma cus and M. Fische
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o he unce ain y wi hin he human sciences
abou adequa e means o desc ibing social
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ew yea s, some au ho s ha e s essed his
c isis: in Sociology, ele an con ibu ions
come om Lau el Richa dson, Susan
K iege , No man Denzin, Paul A kinson,
W i ing in E hnog aphic and Au o/biog aphical App oaches: Old and New Challenges
96 Re is a de In es igación
Uni e sidad Tecnológica de Pe ei a
mi adas
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i is necessa y o men ion Cli o d Gee z,
Geo ge Ma cus, James Cli o d, Ha y
Wolco , and F ançois Laplan ine (see:
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This new in ellec ual sensibili y sha es he
main ai s o pos mode n pe spec i e: “…
a adical ques ioning o he ce ain y and
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a denial o he in ellec ual and mo al
dis ance be ween he academic and his/he
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na a i es o o alizing heo y (his o ical,
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he ele ance o ideology and powe as
meaning ul o ces condi ioning pe sonal
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in con ol o he sel is a he same ime
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T adi ionally quali a i e esea ch has
showed a s ong in e es owa d w i ing, bu
mainly in ela ion o con en ional, o mal,
p ocedu al aspec s o epo w i ing, “…
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o he p oblem, concep ual amewo k,
esea ch ques ions, me hodology, da a
analysis, conclusions and discussion.
These o ma s a e oo schema ic and
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mode nis quali a i e app oaches, “… he
exe cise is simply one o p esen ing no
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Language is always ela ed o a he o ic o
ep esen a ion. In o he wo ds, language
and w i ing a e linked o powe , ideology,
his o y, socie y, cul u e, gende , and
iden i y. Language and w i ing a e no
unbiased ools in social esea ch ( o an
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De ida, i is ue ha “a disclosu e o
na a i e p ac ices is always a disclosu e
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Ou wo k ( o example: heo y, basic and
applied esea ch, eaching, p oduc ion o
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and poli ical ac i i y, a si e o explo a ion
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ac i i y engaging ou physical, men al,
emo ional and social being.
Resea ch w i ing: sel , oice, and
audience. inno a ions and al e na i es.
“W i ing is he da k sec e o social
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W i ing is mo e han an impe sonal ool
o comunica ing some hing. W i ing is a
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a way o e ealing and p i ileging he
sel . F om his pe spec i e, e hnog aphic
and biog aphical me hods a e close han
usually i is ecognized. Almos 20 yea s
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six ques ions aised abou e hnog aphy:
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how con en ions de e mine he na a i e,
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how we a e o ead e hnog aphies once he
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The li e a y u n, p omo ed by C. Gee z, J.
B une , and o he , has b oadened he ways
in which some au ho s ha e concep ualized
he e hnog aphic ex and has s essed he
impo ance o cha ac e is ics o esea ch
w i ing, cen e ed on h ee phases: he
collec ion o in o ma ion, he cons uc ion
o he ex , and he eading o he ex s by
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José González Mon eagudo
Re is a de In es igación
Uni e sidad Tecnológica de Pe ei a mi adas 97
As poin ed ou Cli o d and Ma cus (ci .
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w i ing is de e mined con ex ually,
he o ically, ins i u ionally, gene ically,
poli ically, and his o ically. The adi ional
au ho ship is challenged as well as he
ision o he au ho as ha ing a supe io
gaze o comp ehension. Fo his ask, i
was pa icula ly ele an he publica ion,
in 1986, o W i ing Cul u e, edi ed by
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poe ic and poli ical iews on e hnog aphic
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Feminis esea ch and epis emology
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wi h a new awa eness abou he poli ical,
gende ed, emo ional dimension o w i ing
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on gende and li elong lea ning, see Dybb oe
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Reinha z emembe s ha “many eminis s
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a c ucial p ocess o esea ch and w i ing”
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eminis s andpoin epis emologies and
eminis pos mode nism ha e con ibu ed
o a new iew abou knowledge and
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The ques ions conce ning he sel and
pe sonal iden i y ha e been usually
hidden in e hnog aphy and e en in au o/
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he esea che cons uc s and econs ucu s
he o his sel , his o he pe sonal and
p o essional iden i y. Ne e heless, “social
science –w i es sociologis Susan K iege -
is p emised on minimizing he sel , ie ing
as a con aminan , anscending i , denying
i , p o ec ing i s ulne abili y… we pain
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i we exis ,… a e subo dina e o nea ly
in isible” (S. K iege , ci . in Plumme ,
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gene al s ances in he quali a i e epo ,
passing on he pu poses and iden i ies o
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lis he ollowing pe spec i es: aes he ic,
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ways o engage he eade in a symbolic
con e sa ion. A way o “… es ablishing
he sel o he esea che is by speaking
as a pe son o he pe son o he eade ”
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In he las ew yea s, discussions abou
gen e, oice, signa u e, au ho ship,
na a i e au ho i y and audience ha e
sp ead conside ably. Cli o d Gee z
d aws a dis inc ion be ween signa u e and
oice. He applied his concep ual ame o
ou ele an an h opologis s. Signa u e
is ela ed o he cons uc ion o ex ual
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au ho becomes e iden in he ex . On i s
pa , discou se supposses he de elopmen
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in e ms o ocabula y, he o ic and pa e n
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in academic w i ing is an in ellec ual and
emo ional s uggle. A eminis schola
ques ions: “How o communica e in e ms
ha engage wi h and in e ene in academic
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o disempowe ing women’s expe iences?”
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made by colleagues Nod Mille and Linden
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p oduced by elec onic communica ion:
“How can we w i e abou pe sonal
expe ience in an academic con ex wi hou
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how do we a oid p e en iousness and
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Repo s and o he so s o academic and
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W i ing in E hnog aphic and Au o/biog aphical App oaches: Old and New Challenges
98 Re is a de In es igación
Uni e sidad Tecnológica de Pe ei a
mi adas
e ec s on selec ed and a ied audiences.
“Fo whom we do w i e? Audience
ma e s, because i s a s o shape he way
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eade is a co-analys , expe iencing he
o iginal se ing o esea ch ica iously
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eade ship o esea ch w i ing consis s
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suchs as polcymake s, p og am ope a o s,
ci il se an s, p ac i ione s, communi y
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bo h p ocesses a e no sepa abled. We
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on eade s and on he way he eade is
changed as a esul o w i ing ac i i y. I
seems co ec o hink ha “ he na a i e
is he apeu ic no only o he elle bu also
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Conce ning he le el o di usion and
esea ch use, Miles and Hube man (1994,
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ecep ion o basic message, unde s anding,
accep ance, adop ion decision, u iliza ion/
implemen a ion, in eg a ion. Also i is
ele an o commen he di e en a i udes
o esea che conce ning his / he ole
ega ding he pa icipan s. Acco ding o R.
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a e “ h ee posi ions ha he au ho assumes
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equal and as in e io ”.
In he las ew yea s ha e appea ed new
w i ing s a egies and gen es in e hnog aphic
esea ch, paying mo e a en ion o
sensi i e e en s and emo ional expe iences
&RIIH    DXWRHWKQRJUDSK 
e hnog aphic d ama, e hnog aphic poe y,
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L. Richa dson conside s “… w i ing as a
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abou you sel and you opic” (Richa dson,
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o de elop expe imen al o al e na i e
e hnog aphy, unde he name o c ea i e
analy ic p ac ice e hnog aphy, such as:
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en oll in a c ea i e w i ing wo kshop o
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o ansc ip ions o in e iews in a d ama
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a ex using di e en ype- aces, on sizes
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h ee di e en ways (na a i e accoun ,
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use o pho og ahs, ideo and isual o m
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o new echnologies (CD-Rom, i ual
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wi h w i ing expe ienced by adul s in
educa ional se ings. “Educa o s in ol ed
in wo king o eaching wi h adul s ha e
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o w i e abou hei di e se and mul iples
expe iences… [and]… end o disquali y
WKHLUDELOLW WRZULWHDQG¿QGH[FXVHVQRW
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he e o e mo e eaching on w i ing, mo e
ac i i ies o os e a posi i e a i ude owa d
pe sonal and p o essional w i ing in eache
José González Mon eagudo

Re is a de In es igación
Uni e sidad Tecnológica de Pe ei a mi adas 99
aining, p o essional lea ning, wo kplace,
lea ning o esea ch ( o example, in PhD
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a esea ch-ac ion app oach, sugges s
di e en ac i i ies o helping o w i e
in adul educa ion and eache aining,
mixing indi idual, pai , and plena y wo k
$OWULFKWHU   )RU VWXGHQWV
and no ice w i e s, “ he gen e o academic
w i ing beha es as a ga eway h ough which
hey mus pass o be allowed membe ship,
and hen o pa icipa e c ea i ely wi hin
he [academic] communi y…” (Holliday,

Among he ea u es o “c a manship”,
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and elegance, c ea i i y, a quali iy
o openess, independence, cou age,
emo ional and in ellec ual commi men ,
and egali a ianism. The s yles o w i ing
up he esea ch epo s a e now mo e
RSHQDQGFRPSOH['LIIHUHQWJHQUHVGH¿QH
di e se ways o w i ing and eading in
esea ch and academic con ex s. So,
Van Maanen (ci . in: Denzin, 1989, 177-
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ealis ic, poe ic, ac ual, analy ic, sa i ic,
MRXUQDOLVWLF H[LVWHQWLDO ³5HDOLVW WDOHV«
p o ide a a he di ec , ma e -o - ac
po ai o a s udied cul u e, unclouded by
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a such po ai … Con essional ales ocus
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cul u es s udied… Imp essionis ales a e
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he e o e ca y elemen s o bo h ealis
and con essional w i ing” (J. Van Maanen,
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case s udy pe spec i e, Yin (1984, 126-
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o case s udies (explo a o y, desc ip i e,
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o w i ing epo : linea -analy ic,
compa a i e, ch onological, heo y-
building, “suspense”, and unsequenced.
This ame makes possible a mo e complex
unde s anding o p agma ic unc ions o
esea ch epo s.
On he o he hand, i is necessa y o enla ge
he audience o quali a i e esea ch by
c ea ing mo e open and democ a ic ex s.
In many academic se ings, obscu i y
is p iced o e cla i y. Popula iza ion
and democ a iza ion o social science
would be a good hing, e en i i is
in e p e ed as a p oduc o “mindless” and
³MRXUQDOLVWV´ ZLWKRXW HQRXJK ³WKHRUHWLFDO
sophis ica ion”. In England, and also
e e ywhe e, he Resea ch Assessmen
([HUFLVH 5$( RU VLPLODU PHFKDQLVPV
o assessing esea ch quali y- dis ega ds
academic p oduc ions such as ex book,
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impo an , bu no exclusi e. We need, says
socioligs Lau el Richa dson, o pay mo e
a en ion o s a egies and ways o w i ing
o mass ci cula ion and w i ing o ade
ERRNV5LFKDUGVRQ
W i ing and eading in au o/
biog aphical app oaches: om p udence
o engagemen .
In 1992, Paul A kinson w o e: “The
mapping o gen es and adi ions in
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unde de eloped. The e ha e been some
ad ances wi hin he an h opological
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I hink ha nowadays we need in au o/
biog aphical app oaches mo e in e es
owa d di e en gen es, oices and
audiences. As No man Denzin poin ed in
1989, biog aphy and au o/biog aphy a e
always a complex cons uc ion. Biog aphy
and au obiog aphy a e no na u al,
anspa en , ob ious p ocesses (Denzin,
W i ing in E hnog aphic and Au o/biog aphical App oaches: Old and New Challenges
100 Re is a de In es igación
Uni e sidad Tecnológica de Pe ei a
mi adas
 ,Q P  RSLQLRQ HWKQRJUDSKLF
discou se can help o o mula e new ideas,
new challenges, new pe spec i es in au o/
biog aphical esea ch and eaching.
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a e meaning ul connnec ions ha can be
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biog aphical p ac ice”. A he ou se o my
pape I ha e w i en ha I seek o anscend
he wo ex emes discou ses o social
sciences: he ca og aphy o domina ion
and he cosmog aphy o ennui, in wo ds o
L. Richa don. In his sense, biog aphical
e hnog aphy, o bio/e hno/g aphy, can
aid he s ee ing o a cou se “be ween he
o e -de e minism o some a ie ies o
socializa ion heo y, and he opposi e
ex eme o seeing sel es as ex emely
unique indi iduals which a e he p oduc o
inne psychological p ocesses” (L. S anley,
FLWLQ&RIIH 
P e iously I ha e w i en ha e hnog aphic
and au o/biog aphical app oaches a e close
han usually i is ecognized. In bo h cases
we a e con on ed wi h he o ic, discou se,
social li e, cul u al ansla ion, iden i y,
in e pe sonal ela ionships, gende , oice,
au ho ship, and so on. When e hnog aphy
is de eloped wi h an au o/biog aphical
iewpoin , ques ions on sel - e ela ion,
FRQIHVVLRQ VXEMHFWLYLW  DQG OLYHG
expe ience come o he o eg ound (Co ey,
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highes and mo e ins uc i e o m in which
he unde s anding o li e is con on ing
us” (Dil hey, ci . in Richa dson, 1990,
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ZHQHHGPRUHVXEMHFWLYLW DQGHQJDJHPHQW
by esea che s and educa o s. Li e his o y
app oaches a e no only an al e na i e
me hodology o expe imen alism,
empi icism and unc ionalism. Li e his o y
app oaches a e an epis emology and e en
an on hology, challenging he supposed
p i ileged posi ion o esea che s and
educa o s. Au o/biog aphy pe spec i e is a
physical, emo ional, in ellec ual, ela ional
wo k engaged wi o he ness, e hics, poli ics
and pe sonal g ow h.
Re e ences
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Imagina ion. Tex ual Cons uc ions o Reali y.
London: Rou ledge.
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E hnog aphic Tex s. London: Sage.
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Psychology. A Resea ch Guide. Buckingham:
Open Uni e si y P ess, 160-179.
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Psychology. A Resea ch Guide. Buckingham:
Open Uni e si y P ess, 121-141.
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