Reflections from the Davies reading
‘Me’, ‘Me’, ‘Me’: The Use of the First Person in Academic Writing and Some Reflections on Subjective Analyses of Personal Experiences
I found this quote difficult to digest, ‘It discusses being self-conscious methodologically and taps into real concerns about the emotionalization of reflexivity and how emotions might be subjected to the reflective process.’ Davies, P. (200?, pg.4) the author is discussing a writing project in the first person. I can imagine you would be quite self-conscious with this research practice because of the intimate nature and the vulnerability of exposing one’s personal thoughts. What does she refer to with the ‘emotionalization of reflexivity and how emotions might be subjected to the reflective process?’ Is this alluding to the fact that it would be easy to over dramatise the issue and become subjective rather than objective?
I felt quite moved by ‘A Case Study of Me’ it made me think of a situation I found myself in at work recently. At a parent/teacher interview evening a parent implied he would give his child a hiding if they played up at school. The comment was delivered with emotion and it was clear it affected his child. Part of me thought it could have been a throw away comment but part of me felt I had just been privy to the reality of a darker home life for this youngster. No doubt if this is brought to the attention of certain authorities, this family could find themselves in a similar situation to what was described by the author of this paper with the Child Services inquiry.
From the position of the researcher, I like the idea of an active narrative to give a vivid and intimate account which could stimulate further discussion for different social perspectives. I would also imagine this type of research could challenge our own predisposed judgments, thus lifting the lid on stereotyping and may encourage empathy for individuals and situations we previously felt detached or elevated from.
