Putting People in the Picture (Visual Methodologies for Social Change)

Getting the picture, constructing (and deconstructing) the picture, finding the picture, viewing the picture, being in the picture, changing the pictures—these are all phrases that apply to the fascinating world of ‘putting people in the picture’ in visual research within the Social Sciences. Putting People in the Picture: Visual Methodologies for Social Change focuses on the ways in which researchers, practitioners and activists are using such techniques as photo voice, collaborative video, drawings and other visual and arts-based tools as modes of inquiry, as modes of representation and as modes of disseminating findings in social research. The various chapters address methodological, analytical, interpretive, aesthetic, technical and ethical concerns in using visual methodologies in work with young people, teachers, community health care workers—and even the self-as-researcher. The range of issues addressed in the work is broad, and includes work in the areas of HIV & AIDS, schooling, poverty, gender violence, race, and children’s visions for the future. While the studies are situated within a variety of social contexts, the focus is primarily on work in Southern Africa. The book takes up some of the theoretical and practical challenges offered by Visual Sociology, Image-based Research, Media Studies, Rural Development, and Community-based and Participatory Research, and in so doing offers audiences an array of visual approaches to studying and bringing about social change.