Filmic Sociology: Theory and Practice (Social Visualities)

This book is an exploration of the intellectual resources offered by the hybridisation of sociology and cinema: practicing sociology, or other human sciences, through images and sound. In the age of the image, the book invites sociological research, not only through the discipline's approach, but also through the joint learning of techniques (shooting and sound recording, derushing, editing, etc.) and film writing. 

Using concrete examples, the authors analyse what it means to think through the image, explain the different phases of making a sociological documentary, and question, through sociological film, the representations of reality and, more specifically, what remains invisible in the social world. The result is a reflective look at the theories and practices presented, to better equip the sociologist-filmmaker.

Illustrated with numerous photographs that mark the history of documentary photography and film, the book is intended for both teachers-researchers and students in all disciplines of the humanities and social sciences who practice video and photography or wish to discover their uses. Students in documentary and film schools, as well as students on information and communication programs will also benefit from the book.

Joyce Sebag is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the Centre Pierre Naville, University of Evry Paris-Saclay, France, where she created the Master Image et Société and supervised several theses in filmic sociology. 

Jean-Pierre Durand is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of Evry Paris-Saclay, France, where he founded the Pierre Naville Center. He has published several books on sociology of work with Palgrave.