Seeing and Believing
How Sociology and Photography came together for Interfaith Engagement
By Roman R. Williams, Ph.D.
Standing in the midst of a photography exhibition at the public library in Richmond, Virginia, surrounded by a group of Muslims and Christians discussing their co-created images with invited guests (photo below), I was struck by the powerful combination of sociology and photography to stimulate important conversations, generate solidarity across differences, and strengthen communities. It was the culmination of a photovoice project which brought together two dozen Muslims and Christians over a two-month period to discuss the role of their faiths in everyday life, the challenges they face in their communities, and the changes they thought necessary to make Richmond a better place using photographs. It was the first of a multipule-site project known as the Interfaith Photovoice Initiative, a collaborative project pioneering the use of visual sociology in interfaith dialogue—it also represented an important milestone in a journey that began as a graduate student at Boston University.
PHOTO 1. Interfaith Photovoice Exhibit Opening Night in Richmond, Virginia
I had the good fortune of discovering visual sociology in graduate school in the early 2000s as a co-investigator on a project with my mentor, Nancy Ammerman, in which we explored where and to what extent religion and spirituality are meaningful components of people’s daily lives. To do so, we adopted a three-fold methodology, including a procedure we simply called “photo interviews,” which involved using participants’ photos (of meaningful people, places, and activities in their lives) as prompts in interviews (Ammerman and Williams 2012). At the time, we were not aware that our “photo interviews” were actually a technique that had been around since the 1950s called photo elicitation. After struggling with the mechanics of conducting a photo interview, I began to search for help in the literature and discovered the work of Doug Harper (2002), which in turn opened a door to a community of scholars who do visual sociology—or do sociology visually. After reading John Grady’s article “Becoming a Visual Sociologist” (2001), the die was cast.
Quite often, I am asked, “What exactly is visual sociology?” I usually explain it this way. Most sociologists conduct research that involves surveys and statistical analysis. Naturally, their work relies on numbers. Others do research by observing and interviewing people, which emphasizes words. While visual sociologists are not allergic to numbers and words, their work incorporates images. I use images in much the same way other sociologists employ numbers and words to collect, analyze, and present information about culture and society. In my work, the equation is straightforward: sociology + photography = visual sociology. Over the years, my scholarship has been a balance of demonstrating the usefulness of visual techniques and promoting visual methodologies to sociologists of religion. This effort culminated in my edited volume, Seeing Religion: Toward a Visual Sociology of Religion (Williams 2015). Along the way, my work began to turn toward engaged scholarship.
One way to understand my shift to engaged scholarship is by distinguishing two approaches using the prepositions of and with. Some research falls into a category I call the sociology of, as in the sociology of religion, the sociology of culture, or the sociology of families. In this mode, researchers “figuratively parachute into a community, and upon completion of their ‘mission’ they are retrieved back to their organizations, such as universities, to complete their data analysis and the writing of scholarly articles and books” (Delgado 2015:86). Sociology of tends to focus on the production of new knowledge, which is mainly consumed by an academic audience. It is important work, but not the only kind—or the most important.
Through my “Picturing Faith, Strengthening Congregations” project (2014–2018), I discovered what I call a sociology with approach. This mode of scholarship positions the researcher as a bridge between the academy and community in which “external researchers and internal organizational members work together in partnership” (Cameron et al. 2005:27). Sociology with emerges out of a commitment to authentic and reciprocal partnerships between scholars and community partners (Korzun et al. 2014). “Unlike conventional [research-of] social science, its purpose is not primarily or solely to understand social arrangements, but also to effect desired change as a path to generating knowledge and empowering stakeholders” (Bradbury Huang 2010:93).
The tool that stimulated my imagination toward a sociology-with approach is called photovoice. This technique is a form of participatory action research in which community partnerships, engagement, and change are prioritized and pursued as a form of scholarship. A typical photovoice project involves a stable group of people who meet for several weeks (sometimes months) to identify, photograph, and discuss their shared experiences and concerns (Wang and Burris 1997; Delgado 2015). Much like photo elicitation, the photographs operate as a prompt and means of communication among participants. In photovoice, however, the researcher takes on the role of a facilitator and the participants work together to identify shared needs and concerns. Through a series of guided conversations, participants clarify their thoughts and organize their ideas into themes. At the end of a project, participants’ photographs are enlarged, framed, and hung in a gallery. An opening night reception kicks off their exhibition and members of the community are invited to meet the photographers. Special efforts are made to draw in community leaders and those most affected by an issue in an effort to create an audience for photovoice participants. This is, of course, where photovoice finds its name: photographs give participants a voice in the community. The goal is to strengthen relationships in the community, create a sense of solidarity among participants, raise awareness, and instigate change.
The Interfaith Photovoice Project is a natural extension of my previous work. It took form over lunch in January 2017 with a pastor friend, Michael Bos (Marble Church, New York City), as we verbalized concerns about the implications of the incoming presidential administration’s disposition and rhetoric toward immigrants. Mr. Trump had called for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States” during his campaign (Johnson 2015) and would soon be in a position to make good on that promise. As lawn signs written in Spanish, Arabic, and English began to appear in front lawns around the United States in support of immigrants and diversity, we worried that negative statements against Muslims and policies that would target them would also translate into stigmatization, micro aggressions, discriminatory practices, civil rights violations, and possibly even violence. We wondered what a sociologist and a pastor could do.
By the end of lunch, a project was taking shape: combine my background in visual sociology with Michael’s work in interfaith dialogue to strengthen ties and promote change among Christians, Muslims, Jews, and the communities in which they live. The project that resulted, the Interfaith Photovoice Initiative, is a multi-site collaborative effort funded by the Louisville Institute that combines sociology, photography, and interfaith dialogue. Specifically, we explore the extent to which photovoice may be used effectively in interfaith dialogue as a means to strengthen relationships, bridge cultural divides, encourage mutual advocacy, engage communities, and pursue social justice goals around questions of faith, diversity, and immigration. Given the current cultural milieu, this is an important and timely project.
Our application of photovoice comprises a series of five meetings built around three central questions: (1) Where does your faith show up in everyday life? (2) What challenges do you face as a person of faith in your community? And (3) What changes would you like to see to make your community a better place? During a typical meeting, 20–30 participants work in religiously diverse small groups (e.g., a mix of Muslims, Christians, Jews) to describe and discuss the photographs they compose in response to our questions. This sequence of questions and conversations leads participants through a process of discovery (including self-discovery) and collaboration that results in a collection of visual and verbal narratives that are used to engage their community through a photography exhibition (Photos 1–3 below). An opening night event provides an opportunity for participants to engage in conversations with guests, including friends and family, community members, stakeholders, local leaders, the general public, and the media (Photo 4). The goal of the event is to give voice to the project outcomes represented in participants’ photographs. As such, it is “a venue for participants to take action and speak out against social injustices” (Graziano 2004:312). Likewise, the photographs remain on display for several weeks or months, which provides additional opportunities to engage the community.
Among those who use photovoice for engaged scholarship, religion is rarely the focus of their work. When religion or spirituality appear in photovoice projects, these perspectives are typically introduced by participants and not at the instigation of a researcher. Over the last four years, my research assistants have systematically combed through the literature of the past two decades and identified only a small number of articles that intentionally focus on religion across the many disciplines that employ photovoice (Side 2005; Dunlop and Ward 2012, 2014; Mulder 2014, 2015; Harley and Hunn 2015). And when it comes to projects that specifically use photovoice for interfaith dialogue, I am only aware of two other projects (Dwyer 2015, European Commission 2018). There may be other projects that have been undertaken and simply not made their way into print. Even so, from sociological and interfaith perspectives the lacuna represents a vast and deep opportunity for scholarship—especially for sociology with.
The Interfaith Photovoice Initiative is a collaboration built around applications of photovoice in several locations: Richmond (Virginia), Grand Rapids (Michigan), Fredericton (New Brunswick, Canada), and New York City. These locations were selected due to strong local interfaith partnerships and professional relationships among project personnel: Rev. William Sachs and Imam Ammar Amonette in Virginia, sociologist Catherine Holtmann in New Brunswick, and Rev. Michael Bos in New York. Along with directing the project, I facilitated photovoice meetings in Grand Rapids last fall with the help of my undergraduate research assistant, Elena van Stee, and in partnership with Grand Valley State University’s Kaufman Interfaith Institute. Our project in Fredericton was completed last fall, and our New York City project is slated for late spring 2019. Currently, we are exploring the potential of a project in Muscat, Oman, which we hope will begin in early 2020.
Along with activities typical of a photovoice project (e.g., multiple meetings followed by an art exhibition and community engagement), our project includes a research component focused on the methodology. During photovoice meetings, members of the research team record fieldnotes and collect the materials participants generate. At each site, ten participants are interviewed at the conclusion of the project to explore their photovoice experiences. Fieldnotes, photographs, and interviews are subsequently analyzed. Of particular interest is understanding the effectiveness of photovoice in interfaith dialogue, gauging the impact of public engagement events, and identifying best practices in photovoice facilitation. Along with the materials generated through photovoice projects, our observations and interviews represent a rich data set. Using data from our project in Richmond, we co-authored a book chapter that presents our initial findings (Williams et al., 2019).
As we pulled together our thoughts about the Richmond project into a book chapter, we began puzzling over the shape of a co-authored book manuscript. As noted above, we were already aware that our project will make a unique contribution to interfaith dialogue. We also recognized that we have something to add to the photovoice literature, which emphasizes the exogenous effects of photovoice: namely, the empowerment of a group of people to instigate change. While our project does indeed empower participants, we also see something that is not emphasized in the photovoice literature: a host of endogenous effects that accrue benefits to the participants. In short, photovoice meetings give participants permission to have conversations about faith across religious differences, which builds bridges, challenges assumptions about the other, and creates strong relational bonds (healthy relationships and communication) within the group. And together, the endogenous and exogenous effects of interfaith photovoice constitute an important form of social capital and avenue for intergroup contact.
The book we envision is tentatively titled, “Seeing and Believing: The Art and Social Science of Interfaith Photovoice,” and will be the primary focus of my sabbatical work during the 2019-2020 academic year. It hinges on Eboo Patel’s (2012) insight that promoting strategies of interfaith work (the art of practice) is only half of the equation: we must also consider and demonstrate what makes those strategies effective (the science of practice). As we draft sections of the book, we’ll add some of them to our blog, so sign up for our newsletter and check our website often.
Works Cited
Ammerman, Nancy T. and Roman R. Williams. 2012. “Speaking of Methods: Eliciting Religious Narratives through Interviews, Photos, and Oral Diaries” (with Nancy T. Ammerman). Pp. 117–134 in Annual Review of the Sociology of Religion, Volume 3: New Methods in the Sociology of Religion, edited by L. Berzano and O. Riis. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill.
Bradbury Huang, Hilary. 2010. “What is Good Action Research?” Action Research 8(1):93-109.
Cameron, Helen, Philip Richter, Douglas Davies, and Frances Ward, eds. 2005. Studying Local Churches, A Handbook. London: SCM Press.
Delgado, Melvin. 2015. Urban Youth and Photovoice: Visual Ethnography in Action. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Dunlop, Sarah and Pete Ward. 2012. “From Obligation to Consumption in Two-and-a-half Hours: A Visual Exploration of the Sacred with Young Polish Migrants.” Journal of Contemporary Religion 27(3):433-451.
____. 2015. “Narrated Photography: Visual Representations of the Sacred among Young Polish Migrants.” Fieldwork in Religion 9(1):30-52.
Dwyer, Claire. 2015. “Photographing Faith in Suburbia.” Cultural Geographies 22(3):531-538.
European Commission. 2018. “Cultural Diversity and Interfaith Dialogue in the Youth Perspectives.” Retrieved June 25, 2018. Available at http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/ erasmus-plus/projects/eplus-project-details/#project/a1aab460-8158-4843-93b4-2d49aae2ca4a.
Grady, John. 2001. “Becoming a Visual Sociologist.” Sociological Imagination.
Graziano, Kevin J. 2004. “Oppression and Resiliency in a Post-Apartheid South Africa: Unheard Voices of Black Gay Men and Lesbians.” Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology 10(3):302-316.
Harley, Dana and Vanessa Hunn. 2015. “Utilization of Photovoice to Explore Hope and Spirituality Among Low-Income African American Adolescents.” Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal 32:3-15.
Harper, Douglas. 2002. “Talking about Pictures: A Case for Photo Elicitation.” Visual Studies 17(1):13-26.
Johnson, Jenna. 2015. “Trump Calls for ‘Total and Complete Shutdown of Muslims Entering the United States.’” The Washington Post. Available at www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/12/07/donald-trump-calls-for-total-and-complete-shutdown-of-muslims-entering-the-united-states/?utm_term=.ef1a204c8a89
Korzun, Monika, Corey Alexander, Lee-Jay Cluskey-Belanger, Danielle Fudger, Lisa Needham, Kate Vsetula, Danny Williamson, and Daniel Gillis. 2014. “The Farm to Fork Project: Community-engaged Scholarship from Community Partners’ Perspective.” Gateways: International Journal of Community Research and Engagement, Vol. 7(1):101-115.5.
Mulder, Cray. 2014. "Unraveling Students’ Experiences with Religion and Spirituality in the Classroom Using a Photovoice Method: Implications for MSW Programs." Social Work & Christianity 41(1):16-44.
____. 2015. “From the Inside Out: Social Workers’ Expectations for Integrating Religion and Spirituality in Practice.” Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Social Work: Social Thought 34(2):177-204.
Wang, Caroline, and Mary Ann Burris. 1997. “Photovoice: Concept, Methodology, and Use for Participatory Needs Assessment.” Education Health and Behavior 24(3):369–387.
Williams, Roman R., editor and contributor. 2015. Seeing Religion: Toward a Visual Sociology of Religion. London and New York: Routledge.
Williams, Roman R., William Sachs, Catherine Holtmann, Elena van Stee, Kaitlyn Eekhoff, Michael Bos, and Ammar Amonette. 2019. “Through One Another’s Lenses: Photovoice and Interfaith Dialogue.” Pp. 253–274 in Annual Review of the Sociology of Religion, Volume 10: Interreligious Dialogue: From Religion to Geopolitics. Edited by Giuseppe Giordan and Andrew P. Lynch. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill.
