Creative Methods in Biographical Research
Language: English
The use of creative research methods in social sciences has been discussed internationally during the last years. These include art-based and embodied research, e.g. through painting, photography, collage, video or dance, role play and others. However, little attention has been paid to these methods in the interdisciplinary research field of biographical research although the use of creative methods could be beneficial. As creative methods offer alternative ways to interrogate life-stories and auto/biographical narrations, they can broaden our understanding of how life experiences are constructively (re)-articulated in different ways. Additionally, creative, art-based, and embodied research can offer alternative ways to get an access to research fields that are difficult to access with conventional biographical methods like narrative interviewing. The use of creative methods in these research fields poses not only methodological but ethical questions. In this panel we would like to discuss the methodological and ethical challenges of using creative methods in biographical research and to reflect on practices of doing creative biographical research. We are looking forward to contributions in which research experiences with the use of creative methods in different areas of biographical research are discussed.