Short Abstract:

Researchers outside of visual anthropology departments increasingly use the tools and approaches of visual and multimodal anthropology, facing challenges in reconciling these methods with the academic standards of their disciplines. We invite scholars from diverse fields to share their experiences.

Long Abstract:

Researchers outside of visual anthropology departments increasingly employ the tools and approaches of visual and multimodal anthropology. However, they often encounter restrictions due to their discipline’s specific requirements and standards of academic production. The use of visual anthropology methods by scholars in related fields - such as sociocultural anthropology, sociology, religious-, gender or area studies - highlights both the potential and challenges involved. How do these researchers manage the growing diversity of data produced during fieldwork, such as written notes, audiovisual recordings, online images, and photographs? And how is this diverse data translated into the final, primarily written outputs, which remain the dominant mode of dissemination in most disciplines?

While numerous publications explore the conceptual, ethical and theoretical implications of visual and multimodal approaches (Pink 2007; Trinh T.Minh-Ha 2013; Ginsburg 2018; Cánepa et al. 2024), only a few provide practical insight and guidance. Some examples are the Filming for Fieldwork approach by Andy Lawrence (2020) in Manchester, the notion of the Camera Ethnography developed by Bina Elisabeth Mohn (2023) in Berlin and the Video Ethnography Lab in Louisiana (Shrum and Scott 2017).

This panel offers the opportunity for scholars from diverse fields to come together to share their experiences, insights, and challenges. We invite researchers from all disciplines to discuss the practical challenges and advantages of fieldwork, data organization and analysis, writing, and dissemination when using visual methods and embracing multimodality. We aim to foster reflection, share practical experiences, and explore strategies and techniques that can benefit researchers across disciplines.

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