Autoethnography an unexpected success!?

I must say I'm pleasantly surprised that so many of you claimed to have enjoyed and seen the value of the autoethnography exercise. I'm guessing it probably isn't the sort of thing you've been asked to do in geography before (please correct me someone if I'm wrong), and it can be difficult to get your head round if you usually bumble along in life not really thinking about where you've come from, where you're going or why.

There's now a reading list on the Shared Files if you're interested in following up more about the theory and practice of this method. Perhaps the best autoethnographer in geography is Ian Cook at Birmingham - you can check out his account of being 'Doctored' here. This demonstrates the value of self-discovery through autoethnography as geographers, as well as illustrating some of the benefits of reflective practice which I mentioned in the lecture. Ian's work also shows how doing research in this way can advance our knowledge and understanding of geographical issues.

For my own bit of up-to-the minute autoethnography - I have my 6 year old in tow today who put on a very convincing show of being too ill to go to school first thing this morning. Having made a remarkable recovery, she is now sat in my office cutting out snowflakes, eating KitKat and making sure I find it impossible to concentrate on anything properly. Perhaps the perfect time to write a meaningless paper in Mandarin dialect...? Reflexive parenting in action!