Moments of Silence: Ethics and Harm in Autoethnography

Abstract

This paper explores ethical pitfalls and potential harms that arise in autoethnography. I use evocative autoethnographic writing to reflect upon my experiences undertaking a research project on social and natural isolation in Orkney and Svalbard (2001-2002). This project involved a commitment for me to remain silent and not speak for six months. On the basis of these reflections, I discuss problems concerning the impossibility of acquiring free consent and the potential for autoethnography to produce and reproduce harms. I analyse these problems as deriving from the fact that in autoethnography, the researcher and the research subject are the same person. I give suggestions for ways of mitigating harm and conclude by advancing the need for better appreciation of ethical treatment of the autoethnographic subject.