ABSTRACT
This chapter lays the methodological foundation for a form of autoethnography that I describe as ‘‘auto-archaeology.’’ Auto-archaeology specifies a process by which an autoethnographer relies on institutional artifacts to interpret how a network of power relations affects individual identity formation and maintenance. In this chapter, I reference artifacts from high school to demonstrate how institutional structures and discourses constrain and enable heterosexual and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender (LGBTQ) identities. I then consider three key ways that educational structures may better combat institutionalized homophobia.
