Writing as Myself

Autobiographical Vignette, Poem and Playlist as Tools of Self-Reflection in a Phenomenological Dissertation

Abstract

This personal narrative explores the process of writing a phenomenological dissertation as myself, considering my layered identities as a meaningful hermeneutic approach to study design and data collection, analysis and discussion (van Manen, 2016). I examine the role of self-reflection in qualitative inqury and present three practical tools that are in line with the philosophical background of hermeneutic phenomenological research, considering the current scholarship that supports their use as devices for research, self-reflection and communication. Framed by theories of vibrant matter (Bennett, 2001, 2010) and nepantla (Anzaldúa, 2012, 2015), this piece asks the question: How can the use of tools such as personal vignettes, poetry and playlist curation support the self-reflection of authors engaged in writing a phenomenological dissertation?