The Critic, Connoisseur, and Portraiture: A Qualitative Method Integration

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 12
  In Roundtable Session: Toward a Wider View of Cognition, Experience, and Method

Abstract

This study assessed the advantages and implications of integrating Eisner’s Criticism and Connoisseurship and Lawrence-Lightfoot’s Critical Evocative Portraiture in the topic of eating disorders and student-athletes. With a deeply social justice-oriented approach, and as the critic and connoisseur, my aim was to represent the participants through a subjective, empathetic, and critical lens. Participants participated in multiple in-depth interviews to discuss their experiences, providing them a chance to process their own stories in a unique and meaningful, speak about their struggles, express their joy and pain, and to provide suggestions as to what they would change systemically. These methods, both of which had not previously been integrated or utilized in this topic, showed promising results methodologically and for future participants.

Author

• Rachel E. Taylor, Independent Scholar