Collaborative Arts-based Research for Social Justice: A Guide

This book provides a thought-provoking guide to conducting collaborative arts-based research. Focusing on ways that social inquiry might be conducted with marginalised groups to promote social justice, the text offers chapters on:

• Telling ‘alternative’ stories through a variety of methods from crafts to digital film
• Visual and metaphorical approaches to social research including photography, art and poetry
• Performative methods that include drama, dance, music and performance art

Foster introduces relevant methodological debates, giving a context for understanding when arts-based research can be a fruitful approach to take and outlining a convincing rationale for using the arts as a way of understanding and representing the social world. The book also suggests a range of alternative criteria for evaluating the quality of arts-based research. Illustrative examples from around the world are used throughout the book and an extended case study is included that focuses on Foster’s own collaborative arts-based research.

With their emphasis on the value of participative research and social justice, arts-based methodologies are becoming increasingly popular in health and social research. This is the ideal text for anyone looking to introduce arts-based methods into their research practice.

Victoria Foster is Senior Lecturer in Social Sciences at Edge Hill University, UK.