The Media, Arts and Humanities Research Institute

The Media, Arts and Humanities Research Institute is the collaborative hub of research in Media, Arts and Humanities at Sussex. It draws on the Sussex traditions of radicalism and innovation to support our research and creative practice from across the Faculty.

Events programme

Close to My Heart: Autoethnographic Approaches

Wednesday 18 June 10:00 until 16:00

University of Sussex Campus : Gardner Tower, Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts

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'Close to My Heart: Autoethnographic Approaches' text overlay on a rainbow watercolour heart

Close to My Heart: Autoethnographic Approaches is a one-day, creative research methods gathering that invites postgraduate researchers from the University of Sussex to explore diverse methodologies related to autoethnographic research. Through innovative and collaborative workshops led by Sussex PGRs from across the Social Sciences and Media, Arts and Humanities, we will reflect on and attend to the challenges and joys of working with subject matters close to our hearts.

A diverse programme of workshops, the event focuses on locating points of interdisciplinary intersection through collective, reflective methodologies and practices. We will be discussing and exploring a range of approaches for autoethnographic research, a method of self-study that connects the autobiographical and personal to broader social meaning and positioning, including life-writing, memory recall, self-interviews, reflexive and reflective journaling, positionality and vulnerability mapping and creative documentation.

You do not need to come with prior knowledge of autoethnography, as workshops are designed to be inclusive of all PGR research backgrounds and stages.

Building on the conversations and connections forged as part of the RLI-funded Close to My Heart: PGR Perspectives (May 2024), a symposium exploring ethical considerations for postgraduate research concerning researcher positionality and lived experience, Close to My Heart: Autoethnographic Approaches seeks to further unravel possibilities for connection that can emerge from situating our individual experiences in the context of others, our commonalities and our differences, to consider new ways of working across our different fields of postgraduate study.

Limited spaces available. Book your place via TicketTailor.

Tea, coffees and pastries will be available from 09.30 in the ACCA cafe, where lunch will also be provided. The first workshop will start promptly at 10.00. Parts of the event will be photographed by the University photographer, Stuart Robinson. If you would prefer not to be featured in any photographs, please let Stuart know on the day.

Inclusion and participant well-being are central to Close to My Heart, and participants can expect multiple modes of participation and choice to be incorporated into all sessions. We will be operating a 'relaxed environment', where participants are free to leave, re-enter, move around, take a break and/or journal in the Gardner Tower Mezzanine chill-out space. For more information, feel free to email event organiser Tiffany Murphy (PGR in Drama, Theatre and Performance) at tm505@sussex.ac.uk.

** Please note, this is an internal, peer event for postgraduate researchers at the University of Sussex only. Any interested undergraduate or master's students at Sussex are welcome to contact Tiffany to be added to the Close to My Heart mailing list for future, appropriate Close to My Heart events and opportunities.**

Workshops:

Workshop 1 – Mapping the Personal: Building a Politics of Intimacy with Self and Community, led by Kam Meakin, Media, Arts and Humanities

This workshop will utilise a politics of intimacy approach to bring the personal, political and academic into conversation to imagine creative and innovative approaches to research methods.

Workshop 2 – I am because we are: Reflective Practices and Collective Narratives in Autoethnography, led by Fezile Sibanda, Education and Social Work

This workshop explores anti-colonial approaches to autoethnographic research through Ubuntu-inspired methodologies, inviting participants to engage with a range of reflective and dialogical activities designed to connect personal experiences with broader cultural and social contexts.

Workshop 3 – Navigating Vulnerability in Autoethnographic Research, led by Bella Barrett, Global Studies

This workshop invites participants to reflect on the emotional and ethical complexities of sharing difficult, personal, or traumatic experiences in academic writing and research.

Workshop 4 – Creative reflection led by Beth Sutton, Global Studies

A workshop exploring art and autoethnography, using creative methods to promote collective and self-reflection, speaking to themes of accessibility and inclusion.

Close to My Heart: Autoethnographic Approaches is supported by the Sussex Researcher School's Researcher-led Initiative Fund and the Media, Arts and Humanities Research Culture Fund. The event is part of the Summer of Research 2025, a two-week festival of researcher-led talks, workshops and exhibitions celebrating our fantastic research here at the University of Sussex. Find out about and sign up for other exciting events here!