: Collaborative research

: FOTOHISTORIAS

FOTOHISTORIAS is a Participatory Photography methodology that elicits lived experiences through the use of photos or objects to stimulate conversation and introspection during conversational interviews and storytelling.

In one project we documented the life stories of migrants in the North, in the South, and at the US-Mexico Border, to help surface the richness, diversity and depth of their roots, experiences, and aspirations.  In particular, we seek to understand what are the essential elements of everyday life for immigrants at the transition point of the US-Mexico border, in their community of origin, and in an established location such as Seattle, and how transience, identity, and culture reflected in the pictures taken and the stories told by immigrants.

In other projects we have worked with Tseltal indigenous communities in Chiapas, Mexico, to elicit their experience and understanding of Living Well (Lekil Cuxlejalil) as part of SIET, to document oral histories of workers and staff at Casa Latina in Seattle, and to elicit the experiences of LatinX faculty, staff and students at the University of Washington.

Details of the Method: Fotohistorias

Fotohistorias or Photostories is a method at the intersection of participatory and non-participatory visual methods, drawing from both Photovoice and Photo Elicitation. Photovoice uses participatory photography to empower participants as part of a research process, and Photo Elicitation inserts images into the process of conducting interviews. Though sometimes used interchangeably, Photovoice and Photo Elicitation are different: Photovoice draws from the power of participatory methods to empower participants and their communities through participatory creation of images. Photo Elicitation draws from the power of using images to elicit conversation and meaning as part of the interview process. Our proposed method, Photostories, builds on the power of participatory photography with participant-generated images as part of the research process and the power of Photo Elicitation techniques that introduce images into the research interview for added insight, perspective and depth. By combining these methods, Photostories offers novel insight and meaning that is hard to obtain using only images or only interviews. We describe our uses of Photostories in Library and Information Science (LIS), where visual methods are not widely used, and invite other researchers to use Photostories and other visual research methods in LIS.

In this paper published in 2020 in the journal Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries, we discuss the use of Photostories, a participatory visual research method to explore information practices of marginalized and vulnerable communities.

Gomez, R. (2020). Photostories: a participatory photo elicitation visual research method in Information Science, Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries. 9(1), ISAST (pdf with attachments).

Publications using Fotohistorias

Books:

Iribe Ramirez, Y., & Gomez, R. (2019). Life Histories of Labor and Resilience: 25 years of Casa Latina in Seattle, Seattle, WA: Casa Latina. (PDF)

Gomez, R. (2018). LatinX @ UW. 255 pgs, Seattle, WA: Latino Center for Health. (PDF)

Gomez, R. & Berwick, J. Eds. (2018). SIET – Sistema de Información y Evaluación Tseltal – Tseltal Information and Evaluation System. 312 pgs. Seattle, WA: One Equal Heart Foundation (PDF).

This compilation includes four previously published volumes:

Gomez, R. & Tamayo, A. (2016). Stories of Mi-Gra-Tion: a flip-flap book. Charleston, SC: CreateSpace. Also in Spanish: Historias de Mi-Gra-Ción: un libro en movimiento.

Gomez, R., & Vannini, S. (2015). Fotohistorias: Participatory photography and the experience of migration, 375 pgs. Charleston, SC: CreateSpace. (PDF)

Journal Articles

Gomez, R. (2020). Photostories: a participatory photo elicitation visual research method in Information Science, Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries. 9(1), ISAST (pdf with attachments).

Gomez, R. (2018). Ni aquí ni allá: Nociones de hogar y sentido de pertenencia en el contexto de la migración, Anuario Electrónico de estudios en Comunicación Social “Disertaciones”, 11(1), 169-194. Bogota: Universidad del Rosario. Link

Gomez, R., & Vannini, S. (2017). Notions of home and sense of belonging in the context of migration in a journey through participatory photography, Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries (EJISDC), 78(1). Link

Gomez, R. (2017). Raíces y ramas al viento: experiencias colombianas de migración y prácticas de información, Revista CS en Ciencias Sociales,(22), 33-53. Cali: Universidad Icesi. Link

Gomez, R. (2017). Vulnerabilidad y prácticas de información: experiencias de migrantes latinos (indocumentados) en EE.UU., Revista CS en Ciencias Sociales,(20), 93-121. Cali: Universidad Icesi. Link

Newell, B., Gomez, R., & Guajardo, V. (2017). Sensors, Cameras and the New Normal, Surveillance and Society, 15(1). Link

Gomez, R. (2016). Vulnerability and information practices among (undocumented) Latino Migrants, Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries (EJISDC), 75(1), 1-43. Link

Newell, B., Gomez, R., & Guajardo, V. (2016). Information Seeking, Technology Use, and Vulnerability among Migrants at the U.S.-Mexico Border, The Information Society, 32(3), 176-191. Routledge. Link

 

Conference Contributions:

Iribe Ramirez, Y., Gomez, R., Mora, S., & Berwick, J. (2017). Integrated Information Systems for Indigenous Community Development in Chiapas, Mexico. ICIS Conference, SIG Social Inclusion.

Gomez, R., & Tamayo, A. (2017). Stories of Mi-Gra-Tion An experience with non-traditional media based on a participatory photography research project with Latino migrants in USA. Proceedings of Association of Borderlands Studies Conference 2017.

Baron, L. F., & Gomez, R. (2017). Living in the limits: Migration and information Practices of Undocumented Latino Migrants. Proceedings of IFIP WG9.4,.

Gomez, L., Gomez, R., & Vannini, S. (2017). The power of Participatory Photography in ICTD programs: freedom to explore beyond images. Proceedings of HICSS 50.

Baron, L. F., Gomez, R., & Vannini, S. (2017). The Power of Stories: information practices of migrants in and toward the US. Proceedings of Association of Borderlands Studies Conference 2017.

Gomez, R., Lefthand-Begay, C., Berwick, J., Zubair, C., Iribe Ramirez, Y., & Mora, S. (2017). Indigenous Information System in Chiapas, Mexico: integrating community radio, library and impact assessment for community development. Proceedings of iConference 2017.

Gomez, R., Guajardo, V., Newell, B., & Vannini, S. (2016). Mobile phones and information practices among undocumented migrants at the US-Mexico border. Proceedings of 4S-EASST Conference.

Gomez, R., & Vannini, S. (2016). Lessons from Fotohistorias. Association for Borderlands Studies Annual Conference. Reno, Nevada.

Guajardo, V., & Gomez, R. (2016). Panel: Engaged Research and Vulnerable Communities. Association for Borderlands Studies Annual Conference. Reno, Nevada.

Vannini, S., Gomez, R., & Guajardo, V. (2016). Security and Activism: Using participatory photography to elicit perceptions of Information and Authority among Hispanic migrants in the U.S.. iConference 2016. Philadelphia, PA.

Guajardo, V., Gomez, R., & Vannini, S. (2016). Information and Learning: Trust, Place, and Migration. iConference 2016. Philadelphia, PA.

Gomez, R., Yefimova, Y., Newell, B., & Guajardo, V. (2015). Photo Stories of Life at the Border: an interactive photo exhibition, Association for Borderlands Studies Annual Conference. Portland, OR.

Gomez, R., Yefimova, Y., Newell, B., Guajardo, V., & Vannini, S. (2015). Photo Stories: an interactive photo exhibition based on participatory photography with Hispanic migrants at the US-Mexico. Proceedings of ICTD 2015 Conference. Singapore, SN.

Yefimova, Y., Neils, M., Newell, B., & Gomez, R. (2015). Fotohistorias: Participatory Photography as a Methodology to Elicit the Life Experiences of Migrants. Proceedings of HICSS 48. Kauai, HI.

Newell, B., & Gomez, R. (2015). Informal Networks, Phones and Facebook: Information Seeking and Technology Use by Undocumented Migrants at the U.S.-Mexico Border. Proceedings of iConference 2015. Newport Beach, CA. (Finalist, Most Interesting Preliminary Results Paper). Link

 

Collections of Posters:

Photo Exhibitions:

  • Fotohistorias: Life at the Border – Borderlands Conference, Portland, OR, April 2015
  • Fotohistorias: La vida en la frontera – Universidad Icesi, Abril 2015
  • Fotohistorias: Life at the Border – ICTD Conference, Singapore, May 2015
  • Fotohistorias: Participatory Photography and Migration – Allen Library Research Commons, University of Washington, April-June 2016
  • Fotohistorias: Migration and Human Rights – UW Center for Human Rights Symposium, UW, May 2016

Collaborators

Ricardo gomez

University of Washington
Information School

sara vannini

Sheffield University
Information School

bryce c newell

University of Oregon
School of Journalism and Communication