Co/autoethnography as a Feminist Methodology: A Retrospective

Abstract

In this chapter, we show how co/autoethnography, a self-study methodology, has enabled us to put into action feminist principles through concrete examples from a series of self-studies we have conducted over the past 17 years. Using salient features of co/autoethnography, we hope our readers will see the possibilities of advancing their understanding of their practice through feminist self-study methods and approaches. By providing a retrospective look at how co/autoethnography is a feminist self-study methodology, we examine the past and offer a glimpse into how self-study could expand to include more of a focus on examining teacher education practices through the intersectional lens of social justice. We begin the chapter with some history and background of how our methodology of co/autoethnography emerged within the context of self-study. After providing a definition, we illustrate its key tenets using narrative examples from past co/autoethnographies. In doing so we make connections to self-study literature that explicitly draw on feminism while looking to the future. We hope through this work to show how our aims as socially just self-study researchers are enriched by a feminist perspective.