The spatiality of Collective Autoethnography: Praxis of care and (co)becoming

Abstract

The increased use of autoethnography in geography has proved to be a valuable methodology to ground theory in practice. This approach provides the researcher-participant with resources to place their personal experiences in broader socio-spatial dynamics. As a group of three Latinas, we engaged with Collective Autoethnography (CAE) to explore our experiences with racial exclusion in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand. By sharing our counter-stories, CAE helped us to engage in an ongoing process of (co) becoming, without essentialising our experiences. Taking the feminist ethics of care lens, we explore the politics embedded in implementing this methodology and its transformative potential. We start reflecting about the impact of our positionalities in our decision-making. Then, we discuss how the purposeful weaving of CAE with critical frameworks helped us unpack the nuances of our experiences and amplify our voices as ethnic minority migrants in Aotearoa. Finally, we explore how CAE, as a participatory approach, can inform the multiscalarity of embodied practices and inspire structural changes, which are particularly relevant when dealing with race and ethnicity. As we co-created a ‘care-full’ space throughout the research development, we suggest that CAE can also be a ‘place’ of solidarity and transformation.