“The writing of memoir may be understood as a hermeneutical process that serves
as entry point into a community of discursive relationships. It is a living practice, at once
hopeful and uncertain, which necessarily involves the creation of fictions – both
reproductive and resistant — that write and rewrite both self and culture.” (4)

Allison Pryer boldly asserts that while we are subjective, this subjectivity must not be seen as a bad influence on our ethnography but rather as a blessing of context and depth otherwise missing in more technical, objective research methods. However, I disagree that fictionalizing is either necessary or helpful when working with ethnographic data. To completely embrace the subjectivity of the author is to fully accept as truth the opinion and point of view of that author, and to trust that the fiction she readily admits to writing is an accurate representation of the atmosphere of the place and people about which she writes. If we insist on representing our memories into meaningful fictions, what is to stop us from forgetting the original meaning of our experience, or of ‘remembering’ so wrongly that what we end up writing and reading become outright lies? If we write as objectively as possible and then admit our biases candidly as we analyze our experiences, then we are able later to look back on those writings and make clear judgements. However, if we embrace Pryer’s assertion that “to remember is to engage in a powerful act of fiction,” (6) we run the risk of taking ethnography into the realm of journalism.

Pryer quotes Donmoyer (as quoted by Dunlop) as saying “Neither substance nor form [of a research study] should be prematurely dismissed because it does not fit outmoded, no longer defensible conceptions of what research is and what research ought to be.” Here she seems to be making a leap in her argument that objective information-gathering is outmoded and that narrative is the ‘way research ought to be.’ My problem here, is that her argument does not support this reasoning. Instead, she continues with her discussion of fiction as ethnographic inquiry. She defends memoir as a valid form of ethnography because while the characters in these stories are fictional, they represent real people. I feel that in fictionalizing ethnographic study into creative non-fiction journalism, Pryer has converted useful research information into narrative platitude. There is a place for journalism, and when well-written it does provide insight into the lives of those it represents. However, when dealing with education with the intent to exact change within your own classroom and those of your school and community, I don’t believe fictionalizing your accounts for the sake of moral insight is appropriate or worthy of consideration.