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Vital Signs: Paper Session 5c
Thursday 11 September, 9.30-11.00am, Cordingley Theatre
5c. Visual knowledge and ethics
‘Cartographies of the body’ – Charlotte Bates (Goldsmiths College, University of London)
Cartography is the study and practice of making representations of the surface of the world on flat pieces of paper, combining science and aesthetics to create readable maps with which to explore multiple territories. The secret of a good map is that it represents the mountainous, watery, trodden and un-trodden parts of the world in two dimensions without flattening it. Like the world, bodies are inhabited, geographically identifiable, defined spaces. These territories are my research field and part of my project is to map them. More specifically, I use cartography as a method of exploring the social, biological and experiential construction of bodies. The participants in this project have long term illnesses, and the maps are part of a larger sociological account of living in and as a sick body. In this presentation I show some of the map making data, created using hand-drawn questionnaires and Polaroid photographs, and discuss how these cartographies trace the histories, tell the daily occurrences, and betray the future fears of sick bodies.
Download presentation slides [new window, 1.90MB]. Some material from this paper is available in the August 2008 edition of Street Signs (page 8) [new window].
‘Real life visual ethics’ – Dr Jon Prosser (Real Life Methods, University of Leeds)
Visually orientated research, relative to word and numbers research, is a newcomer to quantitative studies. Consequently, there is a limited agreement among governing bodies and visual researchers on theoretical positions and accepted ethical practices on which to base ethical judgements. It is clear that funding bodies, universities, academic departments, regional and local authorities and researchers are only now beginning to consider establishing comprehensive and viable visual ethics policies. This is no easy matter since image-based research is comprised of a range of visual media applied in a multitude of ways and does not form a homogeneous set of technologies, techniques or practices. This paper will argue that the visual ethics vacuum should be filled, as a matter of urgency, with situated exemplars of good practice. Ethical dilemmas faced by researchers involved in ESRC ‘Real Life Methods’ project (Manchester/Leeds) will be discussed.
Download presentation slides [new window, 1Mb]
‘Growing old for real’ – Mary MacMaster (Norwich School of Art and Design)
The combination of staged, imaginary or conceptual photographic images inspired by issues arising from face-to-face interviews with twenty women aged between 55 and 88 years forms the basis for my discourse that creative photography can be a ‘vital sign’, one of the sought after ‘approaches to researching real lives in complex worlds’ outlined in the call for abstracts. It bridges the different disciplines of social science and, in this case, photography to provide ‘important information concerning the ways in which visual perception of the external appearance of old age …is constructed’ (Blaikie and Hepworth, 1997). My portfolio, the practice element of my M.Phil/Ph.D. research Growing Old for Real: Women, Image and Identity, reflects the lived reality of ageing femininity in a world where media images are constantly presenting new pressures and ‘choices’ to maintain a youthful appearance. The situation is further compounded by extended working years, availability of cosmetic and surgical treatments for those willing to pay, reconstructed relationships and expectations of a longer life. Responses to these issues, vital to the self esteem and happiness of ageing women are accessible through visual expression, which, as Miriam Barnard (2001) emphasises, can ‘complement conventional social scientific data …… to explain the meanings and significance attached to the ageing process.’
Download presentation slides [new window, 1.11Mb]
