ABSTRACT
Autoethnography, then, is a type of self-reflexive writing that relates the autobiographical to the wider sociocultural and political landscape of the time, creating connectivity between aspects of one’s life such as language acquisition and identity within a particular sociopolitical context. It is also interdisciplinary in nature, covering obvious areas such as literature and language, anthropology, sociology, history, education, journalism and media studies, performance studies and psychology. Autoethnography can also be seen as analytic in the sense that it responds to developing explanations based in theory that deal with broader social issues. Autoethnography can play an important role in encouraging transformative learning and the understanding of diversity within African communities and globally. Autoethnography can be used to make meaning of identity through individual reflexivity in the classroom, thereby positively impacting on an understanding of diverse societies, promoting transformative learning.
