Make Them Giggle: Auto/Ethnography as Stand-up Comedy

Abstract

The article is a response to Norman Denzin's call to performance in qualitative research methods and advocates using humour when performing auto/ethnography. I contend that auto/ethnography is too mired in negative and depressing lived experiences, such as death, disease, cruelty, and health problems. If auto/ethnography is meant to be therapeutic, the best medicine is often laughter. The essay calls for using stand-up comedy methods when performing ethnographic texts. Indeed, many comedians are already engaging in auto/ethnography, they simply do not know it or give it that label. Examples of humorous performance texts are interwoven with theory, method, and discussion about the auto/ethnographer's moral responsibilities and ethics.