CONSTITUENT IMAGINATION - autonomous learning

230 Constituent Imagination
I would much rather see an open and honest engagement with autoethnography
in sociology. Such an engagement would not shy away from
critique, but would at the same time address the challenges to sociological
practice posed by autoethnography.
As Spry (2001: 727) writes, understanding human experience requires
“a pluralism of discursive and interpretive methods that critically turn
texts back upon themselves in the constant emancipation of meanings.”
Researchers in anthropology, history, and literature have turned to autoethnography
as one means to address this. I would suggest that not only would
sociologists benefit from this emerging method, but we might also contribute
to its critical development. Rather than reacting against the experimental
and the personal in autoethnography, sociologists might do well to see this
as a method suited to what Mills once called (unscientifically it seems now)
the “sociological imagination.” We must question how sociologists can live
up to Mills’ crucial challenge to connect personal issues with public problems
if we continue to disavow methodological practices that have no time
for the personal experiences, concerns, and contexts of the sociologist.
Act 1: Of Safe Streets and the New Poor Laws
It’s another tough year in Toronto for those of us who have already suffered
years of vicious attacks by various levels of government. On February
1, 2005, Toronto city council voted to accept a proposal to ban homeless
people from sleeping in Nathan Phillips Square. The amendment to Bylaw
1994-0784 specifically says “no person can camp” (which includes sleeping
in the square during the day or night, whether or not a tent or temporary
abode of any kind is used) in the square. Incredibly, the council went even
further and decided to extend the ban to all city property.
This move to ban homeless people from sleeping in public spaces like
Nathan Phillips Square is only part of a city staff report “From the Street
into Homes: A Strategy to Assist Homeless Persons to Find Permanent
Housing.” In discussing ways to address street homelessness the report also
suggests enhanced legal and legislative frameworks and more enforcement
of current provincial laws and city bylaws. The report also recommends
that the Toronto police service be requested to participate in the work of the
Street Outreach Steering Committee. Behind the report’s velvety language
of “outreach,” one finds the iron fist of the Toronto police.
This is no way to address homelessness in the city and is an open invitation
for more attacks by cops on homeless people. It offers little more than an
excuse to expand the already bloated Toronto police budget that, at around
$690 million, already gobbles up 22% of Toronto’s property tax dollars.
These proposed policies are a throwback to the brutal days of former
Mayor Mel Lastman’s regime. Lastman had long engaged in an open cam-