CPPA plans launch party for new book by Gubrium and Harper

To celebrate the publication of “Participatory Visual and Digital Methods” by Aline Gubrium, assistant professor of Public Health, and Krista Harper, associate professor of Anthropology and Public Policy, the Center for Public Policy and Administration (CPPA) is hosting a book launch party on Wednesday, April 17 at 5 p.m. in the Gordon Hall Atrium. There will be free refreshments and books for purchase.

 

In “Participatory Visual and Digital Methods” (Left Coast Press), Gubrium and Harper describe how to conduct an ethnographic study that engages subjects by using visual and digital methods. This new volume shows how technologies such as PhotoVoice, digital storytelling, geographic information systems, digital archives, and film and video can dramatically change the traditional relationship between academic researchers and the community. Harper and Gubrium argue that by using participatory technology and methods, the research process can be more democratic, inclusive and visually appealing.

 

Harper is an ethnographer, exploring issues related to the cultural politics of the environment, cities and food systems. She has led projects using participatory digital research methods to study environmental issues in a Hungarian Roma neighborhood, school food programs with youth in western Massachusetts, and civic organizations working on urban gardens and heritage preservation both nationally and globally. Harper is currently co-directing a project funded by the National Science Foundation titled Cultural Heritage in European Societies and Spaces. Her previous book, “Wild Capitalism: Environmental Activists and Post-socialist Political Ecology in Hungary,” explores environmental issues in 21st century Europe.

 

Gubrium uses participatory, digital visual and narrative research methods to study the sexual and reproductive health knowledge and decision-making of marginalized women and youth. She uses digital storytelling to engage research participants — including African-American women living in a southern rural community and Latino youth from Holyoke — in reflecting on sexuality, reproductive health and related aspects of lived experience. Gubrium is currently co-directing a project funded by the Ford Foundation called Hear Our Stories: Diasporic Youth for Sexual Rights and Justice.

 

Photos: Krista Harper (left) and Aline Gubrium