Figune 34 Figure 35 Figure 4.1 Figure 4.2 Figure 4.3 Figure 44 Figure 4.5 Figure 4.6 Figure Figun Figure 56 Figure Figure Figure 63 Figure 64 Figure 65 Figure 66 Figure Figure 7. Figure VISUAL METHODS IN SODIAL RESEARCH Cambridge Universtty Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology /National Film and Television Archive/ Marcus Banks Signum Technologies Marcus Barks Marcus Banks Marcus Banks Patricia van der Does Linda Connor /Patsy Asch BBC Picture Archive (with ageeement from Liam. Cunningham and Timothy Spall) Thames Valley Police Marcus Banks New York Academy of Sciences Institute for Intercultural Study /Mary Catherine Bateson David MacDougall Sarah Ekder/ Alaska Native Heritage Film Center Fanos Tari Melissa Llewelyn-Davies Patsy Avchh/ Linda Connor ty of Texas Press/Karl Heider ChildCare Action Project: Christian Analysis of American Culture/ Thomas A! Carder Marcus Banks Marcus Bank Harcourt Brace & Company Paul Hentey David MacDougall Marcus Banks Royal Anthropological Institute Unive 1 Reading pictures Figure 1.1. Layers of Guatat ane Hine fim posters on the wall f= busy tract in Ahenedabas, Inia, 1984, 1.1 The trouble with pictures Antheopology has had no lack of interest in the visuals its problems bas always been what do with it. (MacDougall 1997: 276), ¢ is quite common for visual researchers in the social sciences to claim that they work in a minority field that is neither understood, nor properly appreciated by their callengues (e.g. Grady 1991; Prosser 1998b;2 \VISUAL METHODS IN SOCIAL RESEARCH Gf MacDougall 1997). The wasan, the argument goes, is that the social sciences are ‘iseiplines of words’ (Mead 1995) in which there is.a9 room for pictures, except as supporting characters. Yet at the same time visual anthropology, my own field, has never seemed more popular. Student demand is growing, and in response a number of masters degrees in visual anthropology have been developed im Britain and. elsewhere, ‘hile visual options are increasingly being, offered on undergraduate dlegree programmes. Visual anthropology leads the way a8 this, although visual sociology is also a relatively well-established sub-discipine, and visual approaches can be found in other research azeas such as social psychology, educational studies and the ike. There iS now an abundant wsearch literature from within cultural studies and most sacal science disciplines that specifically addresses visual forms and their place in mediating and constituting human social relationships, as well as discussing the visual presentation of research findings through film and photography. Methodological insight is, how- ever, seatesed oe confined to quite specific areas, such as the production of etlnnographic film, Paradoxically, while social researchers encounter ages constantly, not merely in theie own daily lives but as part of the exture of life of those they work with, they sometimes seer at a loss when it comes to incorporating images into their professional practice 1.2 An introductory example So, what can social researchers do with pictures? Take Figure 1.2 iris = photograph, clearly. Eight men sit in a rough line, cross-legged, on the jground about 2 metres or so fom the camera, Behind them are some trees, a cart with an ox yoked to it and an the far left ofthe picture some sort of small structure in front of which sit two other men, The men in the central line are oddly attired ~ some have white cloths draped! across their shoulders but otherwise appear naked except for loin cloths. The faces af some are whitened with paint or ash; they are all bearded and some appear to have long hair gathered up on top of their heads. Several f the men are looking at the camera, and one holds something up to his mouth, So far, assessing the content of the image has been a matter of applying, labels ~ ‘man, ‘cart, ‘cloth’ ~ which lie within most people's perceptual and cognitive repertoire, as does the assessment of spatial arrangements: in a Tine’, ‘to the left of, behind’. To go much further in a reading of the image requires more precise information. The ox cart, for example, indicates that the scene is probably somewhere in South Asia, while anyone with a familiarity with India will probably guess that these are ‘some kind of Indian ‘holy men’. More specifically, they seem to be Hindu sadhus or ascetics, The man second from the left is actually not attired like the rest - he wears some kind of chit or coat, and a turban. He is perhaps a villager who has come to talk to them or a patron who gives, them alms. Those with more knowledge of Hindu practice may be able to highlight further detail, relating to the patterns of white markings on their faces, the just visible strings of beads some of them wear. Other 's of knowledge might enable us to identify the particular species wf in the background of the specific construction type of the cart, hnelping us to guess at the altitude or region. Clearly it is not merely a question of looking closely but a question of bringing knowledges to bear upon the image. While such a reading may help us towards understanding what the image is of, it still tells us nothing about why the image exists. To do that, Wwe must move beyond the content and consider the image as an object, It is in facta postcard, printed upon relatively thick and rather coarse card ‘The image itself is a photomechanical reproduction, not a true photo- gaph, and although apparently composed of a range of sepia tones, this is an illusion, with only brown ink ~ in dots of varying size ~ having been used, The reverse is marked in two ways (see Figure 1.3). First, the words ost Card’, Correspondence’ and ‘Address’ are printed lightly along the long edge. 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