Ethnography and Photography today: new perspectives, technologies and narratives (original) (raw)
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Visual Ethnography Journal -Special Issue
Ethnography and Photography are founded on relational practices which are based on encounter and storytelling. In such an observation, participation and representation space, these disciplines are configured as two forms of writing with their own methodological specificities, as well as zones of contact. Considering the profound technological changes in the recent decades (such as greater accessibility to photographic devices, the increasing production and circulation of photographs, the diversification of virtual spaces, the new digital ethnography), what are the current links between ethnographic research and photography? What kind of contribution do the visual languages offer to the production of anthropological knowledge? Which kind of relations are established between texts and images? How creative and/or authorial artistic research combines with scientific knowledge? The aim of this issue of Visual Ethnography, edited by Marina Berardi and Chiara Scardozzi, is to generate a critical reflection starting from intersectional points between the two disciplines and the plurality of visions and methods. It is conceived as a moment of thought and comparison on the role and the future of photography in ethnographic research, through a theoretical and visual approach, to start a reasoning about theoretical and practical tools of cultural and social anthropology, considering how photography and/or post-photography and its uses declined through the different devices, in addition to making the research contents visible, can also be considered as a real collaborative practice, methodology of intervention, restitution and/or autonomous authorial narration. The call is open to papers and photo essays focused on experiences of collaborative visual ethnographies that use photography to solicit specific narratives and / or include methods of participatory photography aimed at involving groups and communities in the research and co-production of visual contents; researches that explore the possibilities of creating subjectivity in the online life by sharing new forms of self-representation of the body, gender, identity; reflections that interweave ethics and aesthetics in the representation of otherness ; studies concerning photographic collections that are interpreted through their political and public use and inserted (or censored) within the so-called heritagization processes; researches relating to the most innovative and creative trends in contemporary photography that redefine the boundary between reality and fiction starting from the idea of "post-truth", using different media and methods.
SOME THOUGHTS ON ETHNOGRAPHIC FIELDWORK AND PHOTOGRAPHY
Studia Ethnologica Croatica, 2011
Drawing on the existing documenting parallels between ethnographic fieldwork and photography, the paper discusses dilemmas connected to the relationship between the ethnographer and his research participants. The paper argues that the ideas of sensory ethnography and arts practices, as well as a reflexive approach to visual anthropology, especially collaborative and participatory methods, could prove useful in transcending boundaries between the researcher and research participants. Furthermore, the experience of taking pictures might help us towards a better understanding of ethnographic fieldwork. For this purpose, the paper offers an analysis of a number of photographs.
Introduction: Envisioning Ethnography—Exploring the Meanings of the Visual in Research
Social Analysis, 2003
Ethnography and Ethnographic Images Visual images are ubiquitous which, inevitably, is part of their appeal and their difficulty. As is the case with all sensory experience, the process of sight becomes naturalized for us, and it is easy to forget that how we interpret what we see is historically and culturally specific (Banks 2001). Similarly, the representations of what we see are influenced by our historical and cultural perspectives. In the forms of photographs, video, film, and new electronic media, these representations increasingly and apparently, often unproblematically, play a central role in the work of researchers, not just from anthropology, but also from a range of disciplines. As part of a broader ethnographic methodology, photography, film, and video have now been embraced by anthropology, sociologists, cultural studies, media studies, geographers, and other social scientists. The visual images are present in the form of cultural texts or they represent aspects of ethnographic knowledge and methodological tools. They can exist as the basis for the sites of social interaction amongst the informants or between the researcher and the researched. They can take the form of pre-existing images, such as television programs or contemporary or archival photographs and films (Banks 2001). It is hardly surprising, then, that visual images have become so important to the ethnographic endeavor. Yet, as Mac-Dougall laments above, relatively little has been written about how best to analyze and interpret the visual images, not only in anthropology, but indeed, in all of the social sciences.
REFLECTIONS ON ETHNOGRAPHIC PHOTOGRAPHING
folklore.ee
A photograph is at once a direct representation of reality and the result of an utterly subjective choice That visual anthropology in the Estonian cultural context associates mostly with films, or to be more precise, with ethnographical documentaries, does not need further proof.
International Journal of the Humanities, 2005
The new ethnographic methodology that acknowledges the subjectivity inherent in humans studying humans and embraces inter-disciplinarity has created exciting possibilities for researchers investigating the human condition as it is manifested in everyday and domestic culture. This paper discusses some of the theoretical and practical issues involved in a particular application of this new ethnography as two researchers from ostensibly different modes of inquiry -ethnography and visual arts -undertook a study into the quality of life of a small group of older Italo-Australians. The paper discusses the methodology used and the experiences that arose from the collaboration between an anthropologist and a photo-documentist.
“Take Picture! Take Picture!” A Technical Introduction to the use of Photography in Social Research
British Sociological Association Annual Conference, 2007
This paper aims to provide an introduction to researchers who are interested in using photography in their research, but are unfamiliar with the technology. I intend to introduce both technology (what is currently at hand for the researcher) as well as basic photographic techniques that can be used. Drawing on my work in conducting visual ethnographies of ethnic Chinese weddings in Singapore, I will consider the various factors that researchers need to take into account when capturing visual data.
Reflecting Visual Ethnography: Using the Camera in Anthropological Research
uninhabitable.'' This is a point to which she does not return sufficiently in her analyses of each genre, so that when she returns to it in the conclusion, the reader is left as unclear as she seems to be. What are these other stereotypes? Do they not still exist on more retrograde programs? How does each kind of program render them uninhabitable? She does not address these questions clearly enough for each kind of program, perhaps because her analyses reveal an ambivalence toward these stereotypes in the various series. More time may be necessary in order to determine the impact these programs will have on media portrayals of women, some of which have only very recently ended.
Visual Methods in the Field: Photography for the Social Sciences
The use of images, particularly photography, has been steadily gaining popularity in academia, but there has not yet been a book that deals with the act and process of photo-taking in the field. Drawing upon 21 years of photographic experience and sociological research, Terence Heng’s immersive and narrative style will: 1. introduce photography as a qualitative method; 2. discuss the intricacies of, challenges in and opportunities for using a camera in the field; 3. explore common themes and topics in social science research, including photographing rituals, space, people and objects; 4. advise on navigating the always evolving technological landscapes of traditional, digital and mobile photography. Visual Methods in the Field: Photography for the Social Sciences is a photography guide written for researchers by a researcher. Using in-depth ethnographic case studies from research done in various urban environments, this book will act as a crucial bridge for students in geography, sociology, education, media studies and other social sciences to incorporate photography into their research repertoire.
Visual Anthropology Review, 2009
uninhabitable.'' This is a point to which she does not return sufficiently in her analyses of each genre, so that when she returns to it in the conclusion, the reader is left as unclear as she seems to be. What are these other stereotypes? Do they not still exist on more retrograde programs? How does each kind of program render them uninhabitable? She does not address these questions clearly enough for each kind of program, perhaps because her analyses reveal an ambivalence toward these stereotypes in the various series. More time may be necessary in order to determine the impact these programs will have on media portrayals of women, some of which have only very recently ended.