Behind the Eye: Reflexive Methods in Culture Studies, Ethnographic Film, and Visual Media

How is film used in research, and what are the implications of using audio-visual material in the development of scientific knowledge? This book confronts the strategies and challenges of using film in research contexts with a focus on the concept of reflexivity and the relationship between the researcher and informant. Jenssen examines reflexivity with respect to specific social science methodologies and to the cultural forms of expression of modernity. She also covers the historical role of visual media in knowledge production and in the communication and dissemination of research, and shows how visual media underpin important aesthetic and ethical issues related to the construction of social life. This book is an accessible and provocative read for those in media studies and visual anthropology, as well as for all scholars and students who use film in research.

Toril Jenssen, PhD, is a senior lecturer at the Regional Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health at The University of Tromso. She was also trained in cinema direct methods at the Varan Film Studio in Paris and has made several films.