First—the Human Being: Autoethnography in the Context of Margaret Archer’s Theory of Agency

The aim of this article is to show autoethnography in the context of Margaret Archer’s theory of agency. The author’s point of departure is the assumption that autoethnography is not solely a current in socio-cultural anthropology where anthropologists are focused on themselves, nor is it limited to the genre of anthropological literature in which the experiences and emotions of fieldwork researchers are displayed in the foreground. The author shows that autoethnography makes use of the reflectiveness of being in the world that is an immanent characteristic of knowing subjects. A significant part of anthropological praxis also demands from researchers a permanent autoreflexivity. This autoreflexivity concerns the aims of knowing, the course of field research, relationships during it, tools and methods of knowledge, and the cultural, social, and political contexts of practicing anthropology and its consequences. This autoreflexivity is the source of agency. Reflection about ourselves begins with a thought and in an internal conversation; these are the basis of an integral part of anthropological praxis—agency