Bridging, Blending, and Blurring Methodological Divides in Talking White Trash: The Fruits of Incorporating Autoethnography in Multi-Method Research
Presentation (Faculty180)
In this virtual author spotlight session, to which I was invited to contribute, I focused primarily on the multi-method approach to my book, Talking White Trash: Mediated Representations and Lived Experiences of White Working-Class People, which involves a combination of interviews, focus groups, textual analysis, and critical autoethnography. After briefly describing this approach, I explained three benefits derived from incorporating autoethnography in multi-method research: (1) accessibility, (2) the foregrounding of individual lived experiences to provide more holistic and humane inquiry into and understanding of cultural phenomena, and (3) the opportunity to be openly reflexive about ethical considerations, choices, and dilemmas when engaging in research. My goal was to showcase the ease with which autoethnography can be combined with other methods and the subsequent fruits of this merger. Approximately 45 people attended from various countries around the world.