The maternal flaneuse: Using sensory visual autoethnography to document the experiences of early motherhood in place

Reed Hillman, Rosalind

Abstract

In this thesis I have documented my sensory experiences of early motherhood in relation to the places in which they were experienced. This was achieved through mixed media practices of observational filmmaking; documentary photography sound recording and reflective writing on my life with my daughter, which I have combined to create a documentary account. The focus of the research that underpins this documentation is an exploration of mental wellbeing, breastfeeding, mobility and identity; and the interrelation of these themes with place. The autoethnographic approach I have taken is also the subject of this thesis; reflecting on the experience of documenting my own life for the purposes of both academic research, and visual art / film. Analysis of this process and findings is undertaken through comparing and positioning this research practice with other mother-artists and ethnographers. I explore literature from differing research areas; Feminist Geography; Anthropology of the Senses and Phenomenology. I explore film and art works from observational documentary film and photography, interactive documentary and the poetry of motherhood. The findings are presented as a 28 minute documentary film and photo series and as a 40,000 word written thesis. The film andphoto series were exhibited together in my neighbourhood in Sheffield in 2018 where much of my early motherhood experience took place as part of this research. This sensory storytelling illustrates themes of the thesis (mental wellbeing, breastfeeding, mobility and identity) in a visual autoethnography. The work also opens up discussion and critical imagining of what I term the maternal flaneuse-a concept I have created and that I explore to build on recent feminist reimagining of the flaneur. These findings also narrate the way emotion work and trauma can be documented and (re)experienced through research using autoethnography, and the ways in which these collective methods can be understood as ‘emotionally thick description’ to understand the lived experience of early motherhood.

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Jul 17, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 1, 2021
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/6252500
• Award Date: Sep 1, 2021