Re-visioning Cellphilming Methodology

This book focuses on cellphilming as a participatory visual methodology in arts-based research and teaching. The book aims to advance critical perspectives—and re-visioning—in relation to the co-production of knowledge through cellphilming.

Many of the chapters come out of an international virtual symposium hosted by McGill University in June 2022. It brings together authors working in a variety of interdisciplinary areas and settings including work with Indigenous groups in Canada, girls and women with disabilities in Vietnam, youth in conflict and refugee contexts in Mali, and Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights in Canada, Nigeria, South Africa, and India.

Some of the re-visioning addressed in the collection takes up place as we work in new contexts and situations as we are seeing with the idea of ethnographies at a and in relation to COVID-19. The genres, the place of reflexivity, and even the timing of participatory engagement might vary as a result of using virtual platforms necessitated by distancing. Other re-visioning takes place as a result of work with new communities, or new age populations and aspects of intersectionality, looking across work with very young children and older adults.

This book contributes to further decolonizing cellphilming methodology to support participatory work in new ways, and with underrepresented groups for whom finding new ways for engagement is key. A special feature of the book is its attention to work with International NGOs.

Chapter ‘Cellphones beyond the workshop: Youth researchers owning gender transformative change through participatory visual research in rural India during COVID-19’ is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

Claudia Mitchell is a Distinguished James McGill Professor in the Faculty of Education, McGill University and an Honorary Professor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. At McGill she is the director of the Institute for Human Development and Well-being and the founder and director of the Participatory Cultures Lab, a research and training unit in the Faculty of Education funded through the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI). Her research focuses on participatory visual and arts-based approaches to working with young people and communities in relation to addressing critical social issues such as gender equality and gender-based violence and in a wide range of country contexts in West Africa, Southern and Eastern Africa, and East Asia Pacific.

Hani Sadati is a Senior Researcher at the Centre for Community Based Research, located on the University of Waterloo campus. Specializing in social science research and education, methodologically he focuses on participatory and community-based approaches. Additionally, he possesses skills in e-learning and serious games. Hani is interested in leveraging research and interactive learning to drive social change and create inclusive environments that promote social justice. With international experience across Canada, Ethiopia, and Iran, Hani is committed to advancing community engagement through transformative approaches and arts-based methods, including photovoice and cellphilming.

Dr. Lisa Starr is the Dean for the Faculty of Education at the University of Lethbridge. She is a Past President of the Canadian Association for the Study of Women and Education (CASWE). Her current SSHRC funded research engages in two research streams: First, NEXTschool: An Innovative Approach to High School Education, is a study of three Quebec high schools engaging in the process of educational reform. The schools have been undertaking a facilitated approach to design thinking in their exploration of how to reimagine pedagogy, relationality and community within their schools. Second, Designing and implementing pedagogical strategies for addressing Sexual and Gender-based Violence in Teacher Training Colleges.  She has  been responsible for training teacher educators in mainstreaming gender, addressing gender-based violence and gender transformative pedagogy.

 Shannon Roy is a doctoral student at McGill University's Department of Integrated Studies in Education, focusing on teacher identity, feminist theory, and arts-based research. Her exploration centers on the transformative potential of photography and cellphilming as tools to unearth educators' and students' narratives, aiming to enhance educational practices and challenge conventional paradigms. Drawing on her teaching background and previous master's studies, Shannon is currently delving into the realms of Affect and Hauntology, with a particular focus on public school institutions. Her research investigates how art-based methodologies can effectively communicate the often unspoken aspects of educational experiences, utilizing mediums such as photography, storytelling, and poetry to offer unique insights into educational research.