An autoethnography is defined as the study of the awareness of the self within a culture (Bennett). To understand the definition of autoethnography furthermore, I need to know what the term culture means as a whole. In Marshall Soules’ article, Notes Towards a Definition of Culture, he quotes E.B. Taylor on the definition of culture, “that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, customs, and many other capabilities and habits acquired by…[members] of society” (Soules).
An autoethnography is often an analysis of being an outsider or different. I have often wondered what others think of me, I do not necessarily live by it but I am often curious. An autoethnography can also be an attempt to see oneself as others may view them. In a group of people, most have the same views of a person or group of persons because of rumors, relationships and “the way they are.” It is hard to individually analyze ourselves as how other people see us. I feel as if I act different around certain people than others, however all of the people I know describe me pretty much the same way. Why is that? I think when people judge others it can leave marks on the people who are judged, therefore creating an image that does not even belong to them.
It is just as important to learn about my culture, as it is to learn about other cultures. When talking about America, I believe that culture can be found everywhere from towns to cities and entire states. It is wrong to say culture is found only within the country itself. In having different types of people from different cultures live in the United States, I believe that is what makes America well known. Since the topic of culture is so broad, I’d like to think of the United States as a big bowl of trail mix, where many kinds of foods are mixed together in unison.
Works Cited
Bennett, Susan. ” Autoethnography: Writing about the Self Analytically.” Susan
Bennett on Autoethnography. 07 Jul 2004. Humboldt State University. 30 Oct 2007 <http://www.humboldt.edu/~cpf/autoethnography.html>.
Soules, Marshall. “Notes Towards a Definiton of Culture.” 2002 29 Oct. 2007
http://www.mala.bc.ca/~soules/media112/culture.htm.
