Abstract
The authors problematize the notion that photovoice methodology is always an empowering experience for participants who find their “voice”, and argue that while it may potentially be an effective tool of anti-oppressive methodologies, photovoice’s liberatory potential is far from inherent. This chapter argues that researchers committed to anti-oppressive research must live with/in the uncomfortable spaces generated by the irreconcilability and impossibilities that critical reflections raise. The authors reflect on their work with/in a case study of an arts-centered photovoice project conducted with Mexican American tweens in South Phoenix, and examine issues of power that arose. Taking up feminist explications of “failure”, this chapter addresses how the authors struggled in their attempts to enact a critical, participatory project, as they adopt a reflexivity of discomfort.
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Acknowledgements
This project was funded by the Association of State & Territorial Public Health Nutrition Directors and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; the views expressed in this chapter are those of the authors and not of the funding agencies. We acknowledge the assistance of April Bojorquez, Claire Warden, and Milena Batanova with the South Phoenix Photo Voice Project.
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Sandlin, J.A., Szkupinski Quiroga, S., Hammerand, A. (2018). Struggling to see Through the Eyes of Youth: On Failure and (Un)Certainty in a Photovoice Project. In: Capous-Desyllas, M., Morgaine, K. (eds) Creating Social Change Through Creativity. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52129-9_4
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