1st Edition

Picturing the Social Landscape Visual Methods and the Sociological Imagination

By Caroline Knowles, Paul Sweetman Copyright 2004
    216 Pages
    by Routledge

    220 Pages
    by Routledge

    We live in a visual culture, and visual evidence is increasingly central to social research. In this collection an international range of experts explain how they have used visual methods in their own research, examine their advantages and limitations, and show how they have been used alongside other research techniques. Contributors explore the following ideas:

    * self and identity
    * visualizing domestic space
    * visualizing urban landscapes
    * visualizing social change.

    The collection showcases different methods in different contexts through the examination of a variety of topical issues. Methods covered include photo and video diaries, the use of images produced by respondents, the use of images as prompts in interviews and focus groups, documentary photography, photographic inventory and visual ethnography.

    The result is an exciting and original collection that will be indispensable for any student, academic or researcher interested in the use of visual methods.

    Introduction Working With Visible Evidence: An Invitation and Some Practical Advice Part 1: Picturing the Self, Identity and Domesticated Space  1. My Visual Diary  2. Reflecting the Self  3. Mapping the Spatial in Shared Household Life: A Missed Opportunity?  4. Imaging the Intangible  5. Wednesday-Night Bowling: Reflections on Cultures of a Rural Working Class  Part 2: Picturing the City, Sociality and Post-Industrial Change  6. Researching and Writing Everyday Accounts of the City: An Introduction to the Diary-Photo Diary-Interview Method  7. Listening with our Eyes: Portrait as Urban Encounter  8. Amsterdam and Chicago: Seeing the Macro-Characteristics of Gentrification  9. The Visual & the Verbal: The Interaction of Images and Discussion in Exploring Cultural Change  10. Telling the Story of Linda Lord Through Photographs Afterword

    Biography

    Caroline Knowles, Paul Sweetman