What is Auto/Biographical Sociological Fiction?

Speakers:

Gayle Letherby, University of Plymouth

Writing and presenting auto/biographical sociological (social science) fiction for academic and non-academic audiences is a creative and impactful way to tell sociological stories. Through sociological fiction we can express our auto/biographical sociological; emotional and political imaginations; drawing on our own and on respondents' experiences. This way of working; of writing; of academic storytelling; explicitly blurs the boundaries of 'fact' and 'fiction' (which is arguably true of all narratives; whether made explicit or not). It also has implications for the ways in which we define; and attempt to enact; engagement and impact; within; besides and beyond the academy. Furthermore; such writings are significant in terms of the emotional wellbeing of both writers and readers. In this talk I detail my own non/academic; emotional experience of this way of writing and share some stories and my substantive and methodological reflections of them.