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PAPER – Voices of displacement: a methodology of sound portraits exploring identity and belonging

By May 6, 2020July 20th, 2020Published Papers

New paper in Qualitative Research by CIDRN by Alison M Baker, Christopher C Sonn and Kirsten Meyer titled “Voices of displacement: a methodology of sound portraits exploring identity and belonging”.

Abstract

Sound portraiture blends audio-documentary techniques and qualitative arts-based and narrative
methods, privileging participants’ voices and conveying the complexity of their stories through
the layering of sound. We created sound portraits that negotiated the multiple and often
conflicting voices, histories and subject positions for South African migrants who psychologically
straddle home and host lands. Sound portraits speak to the history of colonialism, Apartheid,
displacement, and the continuities of power and privilege in people’s lives. We argue for the use
of sound portraits as an aesthetic representation of lived experience and as a medium through
which research knowledge becomes democratised.

Citation

Baker, A. M., Sonn, C. C., & Meyer, K. (2020). Voices of displacement: a methodology of sound portraits exploring identity and belonging. Qualitative Researchhttps://doi.org/10.1177/1468794120909765

Link to Full Article