Ethically Significant Moments in Stirring up Memories

“Ethically Significant Moments in Stirring Up Memories” by Claudia Mitchell, Sifiso Magubane, Casey Burkholder, and Sheeren Saloojee, points to the issue of ethics in artful engagement as an area that is under-explored in memory-work and self-study. Sifiso Magubane, a South African teacher-researcher, considers the emotional challenges in getting permission to use the photograph of a close friend of his who has died. Casey Burkholder, studying at a Canadian university, considers some of the tensions in preservice teachers producing cellphilms about their own personal histories and, especially, the politics of exclusion. Finally, Sheeren Saloojee, who is completing a doctoral study at a South African university, addresses an issue seldom discussed in relation to vulnerability in social research—that of the emotional well-being of the researcher, especially in relation to what it means to carry around and represent the stories of the participants. The three mosaic pieces highlight situational ethics and ethics of the personal, both aspects of “doing most good” and “doing least harm” that rarely appear in any guide or any ethics policy.