2025 ICES WORKSHOP : A look at the city – A socio-photographic exploration of Hawassa
2025 ICES WORKSHOP:
A LOOK AT THE CITY – A socio-photographic exploration of Hawassa
Proposed by Constance Perrin-Joly, visual sociologist & Hugues Fontaine, photographer and researcher with the CFEE – French Centre for Ethiopian Studies
Where and when: 2025 ICES, Hawassa, the 29 September (Introduction) & 4 October (restitution)
How to Apply: The workshop is limited to 10 participants. To apply, please send an email to constance.perrin-joly@cfee.cnrs.fr by July 31, 2025, including:
- one paragraph describing your current research (discipline, topic, fieldwork, methodology)
- one paragraph explaining your interest in visual methods and what you hope to gain from this workshop
Workshop Presentation
This workshop offers an introduction to visual sociology as a method of inquiry and a tool for disseminating knowledge1, in close relation to urban sociology. It is intended for early-career researchers who wish to explore how visual methods can enrich their understanding of social, spatial, and symbolic dynamics within the city.
Visual approaches have long been part of fields like geography, urban planning, and architecture — likely due to their focus on spatial realities2. While the Chicago School pioneered qualitative urban fieldwork and included photographs in its research3, the use of images remained largely illustrative at the time.
More recently, scholars have begun to employ photography as a research tool to produce and analyze data ((Conord & Cuny, 2014)), particularly to document urban transformations and traces of collective memory— for instance, using photos of furnished hotels to trace histories of immigration4.
Photo-elicitation methods help uncover personal and affective relationships to space. Photography can reveal what matters to respondents, such as perceptions of cleanliness and dirtiness in the city5, or their sense of place and neighborhood belonging6. Taking photographs in the field also offers a unique opportunity for spontaneous interactions and to access ’emic’ perspectives.
Building on this, our approach emphasizes the co-construction of the photographic image through interactions between photographer and subject ((Perrin-Joly, 2023)). This method offers a different kind of ethnographic engagement, grounded in shared interpretation, sensivity7 and situated representation.
Workshop Format:
The workshop will take place in two parts:
- Monday, September 29 – Introductory session (3h)
A theoretical introduction to visual methods in the social sciences: methodological foundations, researcher’s positioning, ethics of representation, and key case studies. We will also introduce the field assignment:
“My perspective on Hawassa”, a visual exploration combining iconic landmarks and less visible urban spaces. - September 29 – October 3 – Individual fieldwork
Each participant will create a series of 10 photographs, each accompanied by:- a title,
- a short caption (5–10 lines) offering a sociological reading of the image.
This assignment will explore social uses of space, urban imaginaries, everyday practices, and the contrasts of the city of Hawassa.
- Saturday, October 4 – Collective presentation (3h)
A group session to present and reflect on the visual productions. The final discussion will address the potential and limits of visual methods in urban research.
The best projects will be selected for inclusion in a future visual city guide of Hawassa, to be published by the CFEE.
All participants will receive a certificate of participation.
References:
- Anderson N., 1923, The Hobo. The sociology of the Homeless Man. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1923
- Barrère C., Lévy-Vroelant C., 2012, Hôtels meublés à Paris, enquête sur une mémoire de l’immigration, Paris, Créaphis éditions.
- Collier J., Collier M., 1967, Visual Anthropology: Photography as a Research Method, Mexico, The University of New Mexico Press.
- Conord S., Cuny C., 2014, Towards a “Visual Turn” in Urban Studies? Photographic Approaches. France. Visual Ethnography, 3 (1).
- Harper D. 1988, « Visual Sociology: Expanding Sociological Vision », The American Sociologist, 19, 1, pp. 54-70.
- Harper D. 2002, « Talking About Pictures: A Case for Photo Elicitation », Visual Studies, 17, 1, Abingdon, Routledge/Taylor & Francis, pp. 13-26.
- Maresca S., Meyer M. 2003, Précis de photographie à l’usage des sociologues, Rennes, Presses universitaires de Rennes.
- Guinchard C., Havard J-F., Ogorzelec L., 2012, Concertation et coproduction de la propreté des rues. : Terrains comparés à Mulhouse et Besançon (France), Rufisque (Sénégal) et Mohammedia (Maroc). Rapport : ⟨halshs-00908517⟩.
- Schoepfer I. 2014, Capturing neighborhood images through photography, Visual Ethnography, Vol 3, No 1. http://www.vejournal.org/index.php/vejournal/article/view/50/0
- Thrasher F., 1927, The Gang: A Study of 1,313 Gangs in Chicago, Chicago, University of Chicago Press.
- Topalov C. 1997. « Maurice Halbwachs, photographe des taudis parisiens (1908) ». Genèses, 28, pp. 128-145.
- Harper, 1988, 2002; Collier, Collier, 1967 [↩]
- Meyer & Maresca, 2016 [↩]
- e.g., Anderson, 1923; Thrasher, 1927 [↩]
- Barrère & Levy-Vroelant, 2014 [↩]
- Guinchard, Havard, Ogorzelec, 2012 [↩]
- Shoepfer, 2014 [↩]
- Perrin-Joly, Josse-Durand, 2023 [↩]
OpenEdition vous propose de citer ce billet de la manière suivante :
Secrétaire Scientifique (7 juillet 2025). 2025 ICES WORKSHOP : A look at the city – A socio-photographic exploration of Hawassa. UN ŒIL SUR LA CORNE / AN EYE ON THE HORN. Consulté le 16 janvier 2026 à l’adresse https://doi.org/10.58079/14afq




