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Genealogy
Special Issues
Writing Genealogy: Auto/Biographical research, Autoethnography and Narrative Inquiry
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Writing Genealogy: Auto/Biographical research, Autoethnography and Narrative Inquiry

A special issue of Genealogy (ISSN 2313-5778). This special issue belongs to the section "Biographies".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (27 September 2020) | Viewed by 27462

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Helene Connor

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Te Puna Wānanga, School of Māori and Indigenous Education, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
Interests: narrative inquiry; auto/biographical research; identity; cultural representation; Māori whakapapa (genealogy); historical lives; women’s life histories

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Genealogy is now accepting submissions for a Special Issue on the topic, “Writing Genealogy:  Auto/Biographical research, Autoethnography and Narrative Inquiry.”

Broadly conceived, the editorial team is interested in articles which examine the research methods that underpin the writing of genealogy, family histoies, reminiscence, and memoir. We also invite scholars to examine the ways in which genealogical histories are crafted and contextualized within the complexity of social and family relationships, class, gender, race and ethnicity, or nation.  Authors are also encouraged to reflect on how they have articulated the wider process of text-making, narrating meaning, and analysing themes when writing genealogy.

This issue also invites essays from scholars who are researching and writing genealogy where there may have been genealogical disruptions, such as those experienced by refugee background families.

Papers are invited from any relevant disciplinary backgrounds, addressing but not limited to research methods, analysis/reflection, and crafting techniques employed for writing genealogy, including but not limited to:

Biographical research

Collective biographical research

Autobiographical research

Critical autoethnographic/autoethnographic research

Storytelling research

Pūrākau and indigenous whakapapa/genealogy research

Narrative Inquiry

Personal narratives and genealogy

Thematic analysis

Archival Research

Access/non-access to records

Genealogy Research utilising genealogy software

Identities and genealogy — personal and social

Genealogical bewilderment

Writing genealogy

Genealogy in practice, writing the lives of individuals and families

Reflecting and re-thinking the politics of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation/and or gender Identity through writing genealogy

Social media, internet, and genealogy

Family stories and genealogy

Genealogical communities

Dr. Helene Connor
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Genealogy is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Writing genealogy and research methods
  • Auto/biographical research
  • Autoethnographical resarch
  • Narrative inquiry
  • Analysis and reflection
  • Writing and crafting genealogy
  • Text-making
  • Indigenous genealogy
  • Identity

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Editorial

Jump to: Research

3 pages, 163 KiB  
Editorial
Special Issue “Writing Genealogy: Auto/Biographical Research, Autoethnography and Narrative Inquiry”: An Introduction
by Helene Connor
Genealogy 2022, 6(2), 50; https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy6020050 - 1 Jun 2022
Viewed by 1523
Abstract
Writing about genealogy within the ‘academy’ has been hindered by the perception that researching family history and genealogy belongs in the realm of hobbyists as something you might peruse in retirement [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Writing Genealogy: Auto/Biographical research, Autoethnography and Narrative Inquiry)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

14 pages, 843 KiB  
Article
Learning to Live with the Killing Fields: Ethics, Politics, Relationality
by Lincoln Dam
Genealogy 2021, 5(2), 33; https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy5020033 - 30 Mar 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 9430
Abstract
The Killing Fields call into question my very being. How are we to live in and with the aftermath of an estimated 1.7 million people perishing? How are we, the survivors of this calamity, to discern our family (hi)stories and ourselves in the [...] Read more.
The Killing Fields call into question my very being. How are we to live in and with the aftermath of an estimated 1.7 million people perishing? How are we, the survivors of this calamity, to discern our family (hi)stories and ourselves in the face of these irreparable genealogical fractures? This paper begins with stories—co-constructed with my father—about the Killing Fields, a genocide orchestrated by the Khmer Rouge and from which humanity appears to suffer a collective amnesia. The latter half of this paper turns to my engagements with ethical-political philosophy as a means to comprehend and make meaning of the atrocities described by my father. Drawing principally on the Yin-Yang philosophy and Thai considerations of the face, I respond to keystone Khmer Rouge ideas and strategies that “justified” the murder of over one million people. Philosophy teaches me to learn from and how to live with the Killing Fields. It offers me routes to make sense of my roots in the absence of treasure troves that would typically inform the writing of genealogies and family (hi)stories. This paper gives testimony to a tragedy of the past that is inscribed in the present and in the yearning for a better tomorrow. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Writing Genealogy: Auto/Biographical research, Autoethnography and Narrative Inquiry)
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10 pages, 258 KiB  
Article
Ko te Rākau Hei Tohu Mō te Rangahau Me te Tuhi Whakapapa: Tree Symbolism as a Method for Researching and Writing Genealogy
by Helene Connor
Genealogy 2021, 5(2), 29; https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy5020029 - 25 Mar 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3880
Abstract
This article discusses a method for researching and writing whakapapa (genealogy) based on the symbolism of the tree. Utilizing tree symbolism as a method for researching and writing genealogy is conceived as a literary device for documenting both individual and collective life histories. [...] Read more.
This article discusses a method for researching and writing whakapapa (genealogy) based on the symbolism of the tree. Utilizing tree symbolism as a method for researching and writing genealogy is conceived as a literary device for documenting both individual and collective life histories. It is an approach that was developed as being distinctively Māori, but at the same time able to be adapted by other ethnic groups and communities. The method consists of the following aspects of tree symbolism: the roots (family heritage); the trunk (what sustains and gives purpose to one’s life); the branches (the different paths our lives follow); the fruits (what we bring to our maturity); the forest (connections with others). Tree symbolism can be adapted for any ethnic group by utilizing the metaphor of a tree that has particular relevance to the particular group. It can also be adapted for community groups. For the most part, though, this article will focus on the Tōtara tree and its significance around researching and writing about whakapapa for Māori. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Writing Genealogy: Auto/Biographical research, Autoethnography and Narrative Inquiry)
17 pages, 255 KiB  
Article
Becoming and Being Irish-Pākehā: Crafting a Narrative of Belonging That Inspirits Indigenous–Settler Relationships
by Frances Hancock
Genealogy 2020, 4(4), 113; https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy4040113 - 24 Nov 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3752
Abstract
Irish-Pākehā (a European New Zealander of Irish descent) is a settler identity that embodies ancestral relations with forebears and homelands as well as a relationship with Māori, the Indigenous Peoples of Aotearoa-New Zealand. Being of Irish descent carries multiple meanings that can nourish [...] Read more.
Irish-Pākehā (a European New Zealander of Irish descent) is a settler identity that embodies ancestral relations with forebears and homelands as well as a relationship with Māori, the Indigenous Peoples of Aotearoa-New Zealand. Being of Irish descent carries multiple meanings that can nourish a sense of identity, a sense of belonging, and significant relationships. How have my Irish ancestral relations and places of belonging cultivated in me those relational qualities and ethical–political commitments that inspirit the Indigenous–settler engagements that are part of my personal and professional life? Here I explore the complexities of becoming and being Irish-Pākehā in response to that question. Travelling across generations and two countries, I utilise a series of guiding questions to help construct an Irish-Pākehā diasporic identity through a narrative of belonging. Following Nash, I explore geographies of relatedness, doing kinship, and the effects of identity-making through kinship as a way to understand who I am/am becoming and why being Irish-Pākehā matters in my work with Indigenous Māori. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Writing Genealogy: Auto/Biographical research, Autoethnography and Narrative Inquiry)
18 pages, 301 KiB  
Article
My Tongue is a Mountain: Land, Belonging and the Politics of Voice
by Sandra Yellowhorse
Genealogy 2020, 4(4), 112; https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy4040112 - 24 Nov 2020
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3474
Abstract
Indigenous story is about place and our orientation to the place(s) we live through and in. This essay is about Diné (Navajo) identity and its entanglements with the authority of words and the politics of voice within the academy. It is about how [...] Read more.
Indigenous story is about place and our orientation to the place(s) we live through and in. This essay is about Diné (Navajo) identity and its entanglements with the authority of words and the politics of voice within the academy. It is about how voice or narrative are political acts that ground Indigenous peoples in land and territory. In Diné communities, there are ongoing discussions regarding the politics of authority and representation in the erasure of Indigenous voices in academic spaces. Such academic erasure has ripple effects into the ongoing contestation of land and belonging. These ripple effects fuel identity politics among Diné people on the community level. I argue that Diné people themselves are erased and the everyday narrations of our realities and experiences through these normalized academic processes. In addressing those academic processes, I draw attention to another framework for identity politics that encourages and supports not only our voices as Diné people but upholds our intellectual sovereignty and claims to land. I engage narrative to bring forward an understanding that our relationships to words and story extend beyond our tongues. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Writing Genealogy: Auto/Biographical research, Autoethnography and Narrative Inquiry)
15 pages, 286 KiB  
Article
The Genealogy of No-Self: Marguerite Yourcenar’s Koan of the Labyrinth
by Joyce Janca-Aji
Genealogy 2020, 4(4), 108; https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy4040108 - 11 Nov 2020
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2155
Abstract
20th-century French author, Marguerite Yourcenar, prefaces the first volume of her autobiographical/genealogical trilogy, Dear Departed with a 13th-century Zen koan: What is your original face before your parents were born? In the context of the meticulously researched family history of her maternal line, [...] Read more.
20th-century French author, Marguerite Yourcenar, prefaces the first volume of her autobiographical/genealogical trilogy, Dear Departed with a 13th-century Zen koan: What is your original face before your parents were born? In the context of the meticulously researched family history of her maternal line, Yourcenar examines the foundations and major resources of individual and collective self-writing in light of Buddhist discourses on the nature of self, while offering an incisive critique of and alternative to the function of genealogical inquiry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Writing Genealogy: Auto/Biographical research, Autoethnography and Narrative Inquiry)
14 pages, 233 KiB  
Article
Family and Trauma: The Autobiography of Scholarship
by Diane L. Wolf
Genealogy 2020, 4(4), 107; https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy4040107 - 3 Nov 2020
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2330
Abstract
Unpeeling what is usually concealed by professional language, this essay explores the interactive relationship between my research, on the one hand, and my personal and family history, on the other. These connections are not simply uni-directional, but dynamic and interactive, evolving over time. [...] Read more.
Unpeeling what is usually concealed by professional language, this essay explores the interactive relationship between my research, on the one hand, and my personal and family history, on the other. These connections are not simply uni-directional, but dynamic and interactive, evolving over time. Although some of my research questions may have paralleled my personal challenges, the Holocaust survivors I have researched also deeply affected my emotional life and personal trajectory at different times. I briefly discuss my genealogical inheritance coupled with an in-depth focus on my scholarship. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Writing Genealogy: Auto/Biographical research, Autoethnography and Narrative Inquiry)
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