Autoethnography: Journeys of the Self Reading

After reading this article, I was still confused on what exactly autoethnography meant. According to Wikipedia (no other dictionary had a definition), the word "autoethnography" means "a from of autobiographical personal narrative that explores the writer's experience of life". This definition seems repetitive saying "autobiographical" and "personal" because an autobiography is already a firsthand account about someone's life. My interpretation is that an autoethnography is basically an autobiography analyzing an aspect or theme of life that has resonated with the writer.

I believe that Catherine Russell is trying to say that in "A Berlin Chronicle", Walter Benjamin is successful in creating an autoethnography because there is a reoccurring theme of memory. Russell continues to explain that Benjamin offers a few segmented memories, but he does it with in depth detail.

I think everyone at this point in their lives can relate to the idea of memory because that is how we remember the past. Even though we may not remember all of it, the most powerful events stay with us and we are able to recount those for years to come. This directly relates to the idea of storytelling because it shows how important it is for humans. Not of all of us will go on to write an autoethnography, but our stories will continue through time through the power of memory and speech.