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Unearthing Personal History: Autoethnography & Artifacts Inform Research On Youth Risk Taking, Diane Conrad

Journal of Social Theory in Art Education

I begin from the premise that research will always be affected by the subjectivity of the researcher, in the choice of research topic and in the interpretation of research findings. My study using Popular Theatre as a participatory, arts-based approach to exploring the risky experiences of youth was further informed by an autoethnographic investigation into my own experiences as a youth, an unearthing of my personal history through autobiographical writing and a (re)collection of artifacts from my youth. My arts-based methods adding a messiness to the research process and findings that reflects the complexity of the issues under investigation.