Picturing Empowerment: Visual Ethnography in Nongovernmental Organization Education Projects in Dadaab, Kenya

• In Event: Roundtable Session 26
  In Roundtable Session: Considering the Applications of Visual Methodologies and Arts-Based Research

Abstract

Visual methodologies with vulnerable populations have been popularized through reflexive photography, photo novella, PhotoVoice, digital storytelling, and the work of critical pedagogues and ethnographers (Castleden & Garvin, 2008). The literature discusses how visual tools give voice (or not) to marginalized peoples, often women. Dadaab, Kenya, hosts the largest refugee complex in the world with five camps and roughly 350,000 people, most of whom are Somali. Refugees balance restrictions from the Kenyan government who fear security risks from the camps and risks of return to Somalia where political instability is still rampant. This paper presents the methodological experiences from a visual ethnographic study of educational programs provided by Non-Governmental Organizations in Dadaab to identify the utility and limitations of these methods.

Author

• Allyson Krupar, The Pennsylvania State University - University Park