Third ISA Forum of Sociology (July 10-14, 2016)

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Exploring the Role of Seeing in Racism, Nationalism and Ethnic Relations

RC05 Racism, Nationalism and Ethnic Relations (host committee)
WG03 Visual Sociology

Language: English

This Joint RC05/WG03 Regular Session organizes work on imagery confronting racist/nationalist/ethnocentric ideology. Visual approaches could contribute to the global challenge of making inclusive societies possible, at both abstract and concrete levels. “Equal recognition is not just the appropriate mode for a healthy democratic society. Its refusal can inflict damage on those who are denied it” (Taylor, 1994).
European and American societies have long histories of using images to exclude minorities and denigrate diversity. In America, grotesque caricatures of freed Blacks, and Irish immigrants showed their ineligibility for community membership. In Europe it often was Jews and Roma. 
Advanced visual practices today accomplish the same exclusionary goals. Surveillance and stereotypes have played central roles in creating and maintaining oppression and ethnic and racial hierarchies. In the USA, quotidian discrimination against people of color has generated visual euphemisms such as the seemingly punishable offense of “driving while black” and research has verified claims of racial bias against the New York City Police Department’s “Stop-and-Frisk” Policy. In France the prohibition of women concealing their faces in public places rankles many Moslems, and hateful icons and signs fuel Islamophobia, anti-migrant movements, and attacks against those whose visual appearance makes them a target. 
We seek papers that demonstrate the value of the widest range of visual approaches from photo elicitation to Photovoice to evaluate current policies and explore new collaborative and participatory strategies aimed at eradicating racial discrimination and unequal treatment based on ethnicity. Posters: