Autoethnographic Fragments of My Grandmothers

Abstract

Using the practice of autoethnographic vignettes and sketching as a launching point, the author creates a form he calls “autoethnographic fragments” that represent memories of his two grandmothers, moments of their lives entwined with his childhood, and their passing away from cancer and failing health. The theory fragmented writing is derived from Derrida‟s The Post Card, or envois of texts never written. Each fragment is limited to six sentences and is performative social science, as advocated by Denzin (2003). Autoethnographic fragments provide images and feelings from longer narratives of memory, without revealing the entire (unwritten) text of the memory. The author questions the authenticity of mimesis through this incompleteness. Using sociological introspection, the author explores his current feelings and thoughts regarding death, loss, cancer, and the verisimilitude of autoethnographic writing.

NOTE: This paper won the 2009 Norman K. Denzin Qualitative Research Award, sponsored by the Carl Couch Center. I thank the judges for their choice and the honor of winning an award named after a sociologist who has influenced me greatly, and whose contributions to research over the decades cannot be matched.

Keywords: autoethnography, fragment, Derrida, grandmothers, Norman K. Denzin Award

JEL Classification: Z00