Interpreting for the Church? : An Autoethnography of Meaning Making in Sermon Interpreting

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This article illustrates the author’s personal account of examining her volunteer work as a sermon interpreter throughout her professional career spanning twenty years. What was the motivation behind this work? What meaning did it have in personal, spiritual, and professional life? Through field notes, reflective journals, research memos, and self-generated memory data collected from April 2023, the worked example seeks to identify the motivations of volunteering, the meaning of work and vocation, and professional and spiritual identity work. The autoethnographic account shows how serving as a sermon interpreter aided identity work by meaning making of interpreting practice, not simply as a career choice, but as a spiritual calling (Lips-Wiersma, 2001). The solace that this self-awareness provides during times of inner conflict illustrates how “identification waxes and wanes as individuals and their contexts evolve” (Kreiner et al., 2006: 1032).

목차 (Table of Contents)

• 1. Introduction
• 2. Autoethnography as method of inquiry
• 2.1. Introducing autoethnography
• 2.2. Autoethnography in T&I studies: a viable option
• 2.2.1. Narrative studies of self
• 2.2.2. Sociological approaches to T&I studies
• 2.2.3. Ethical considerations
• 3. Doing an autoethnography: a worked example
• 3.1. Researcher positionality
• 3.2. Getting started
• 3.3. Choosing a research focus
• 3.4. Collecting data
• 3.5. Data analysis, interpretation, and writing
• 4. Three autoethnographic vignettes
• 5. Discussion and conclusion
• References