Abstract

This presentation explores learning as a process of ‘becoming’ doctoral researchers, not as an individual pursuit but as a relational performance shaped through supervision, shared risk, and a new collective identity as ‘ethnographers’. Emerging from our first international conference in Bristol in 2024, three doctoral researchers supported by their supervisor found themselves navigating the as-yet unfamiliar space of autoethnographic scholarship. While our research interests were aligned methodologically, our projects were distinct. Therefore, what united us was not topic, but process.

Around that landmark conference in Bristol, a learning dialogue between us developed, concerning our feelings about conference preparation, co-authorship and shared exposure to a critical audience. A micro-community of practice was formed, one that has extended beyond supervision into scholarly comradery and friendships lasting for years after that formative conference experience. We became known as ‘The Bristol Boys’. In this space, we built confidence, our voices were rehearsed and refined, and creative methods were legitimised in our research contexts. We did not simply present research; we performed it, demonstrating who we were becoming as researchers.

Drawing on dramaturgical and community-of-practice frameworks, this poster conceptualises our doctoral supervision as a staged, performative, yet emergent collective of
researcher identity. Our poster borrows visually from the promotional graphics by John Sabel (1992) for the film Reservoir Dogs (Dir: Tarantino, 1992). The design symbolises individual character within a shared narrative. Our story is that each researcher maintains his distinct identity, yet together we generate an intellectual synergy that is greater than the sum of its parts (or individual outputs).

The accompanying QR-linked script enacts this process of learning through exchanges between The Bristol Boys, inviting viewers to reflect upon and work energetically towards their own academic goals. This research frames doctoral education as not solely structured progression, but a rewarding and enjoyable shared relationship.