University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 6-17-2008 The Autoethnographic Call: Current Considerations and Possible Futures Kendall Smith-Sullivan University of South Florida Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the American Studies Commons Scholar Commons Citation Smith-Sullivan, Kendall, "The Autoethnographic Call: Current Considerations and Possible Futures" (2008). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/503 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. The Autoethnographic Call: Current Considerations and Possible Futures by Kendall Smith-Sullivan A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Communication College of Arts and Science University of South Florida Major Professor: Carolyn Ellis, Ph.D. Arthur Bochner, Ph.D. Eric Eisenberg, Ph.D. Donileen Loseke, Ph.D. Date of Approval: June 17, 2008 Keywords: autoethnography, therapeutic writing, health communication, narrative therapy, reflexivity, narrative © Copyright 2008, Kendall Smith-Sullivan To Jim For being on the same page with me, always Acknowledgments I gratefully acknowledge my major professor, Carolyn Ellis, whose insight, feedback, and inspiration have made this possible and my committee for their ongoing mentoring and encouragement: Art Bochner, Eric Eisenberg, and Doni Loseke. I also want to acknowledge the ongoing moral support from my friends: Jane, Cris, Mary Katherine, and Jennifer L., with a special thank you to Beth who knows how difficult dissertation writing is and who was always there when I needed a friend, APA specialist, and doctoral coach.