Being with A/r/tography

by Stephanie Springgay (Editor), R.L. Irwin (Editor)

Being with A/r/tography is a collection of essays that explain and exemplify the arts-based research methodology called a/r/tography. Edited by four scholars who are artists, researchers, and teachers (a/r/tographers), this book is a methodology book for practitioners in arts-based educational research. In addition to an introductory essay which contextualizes and theorizes the methodological framework of a/r/tography, the book is divided into three main thematic sections that are integral to a/r/tographical (1) self-study and autobiography; (2) communities of a/r/tographic practice; (3) ethics and activism. The book concludes with a consideration of issues related to assessment, validity, and interpretation. Being with A/r/tography will be an excellent core text in graduate courses that focus on arts-based educational research, as well as a valuable text in pre-service teacher education programs. The book will also be significant for qualitative research courses in all the social sciences and the health sciences, including communication studies, nursing, counseling psychology, and arts therapy. The book provides a clear and comprehensive introduction to a/r/tography. Even though a/r/tography as a research methodology is relatively new in the scholarly field, Being with A/r/tography spells out how scholarly practitioners who are artists and researchers and teachers have been pursuing this kind of research for a long time.

Genres: Research, Education

316 pages, Paperback

First published October 19, 2007

Reviews

[Peaches · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rich in definitions of a/r/tography, but filled with essays that either describe the same artistic medium (writing, mainly with some kind of lyrical or poetic form), or do not provide much theoretical framework within the actual essays. I'm interested in using a/r/tography for my dissertation, so perhaps I am not the intended audience (I am not yet a "scholar"), but I would have liked more diversity; however, since it was published ten years ago, maybe the field was newer and less diverse? Whatever the case, I will definitely be using parts of it for my dissertation, but other parts were not useful, so I am happy I got it from the library rather than purchasing it. What it does best is describing what a/r/tography is in an accessible way for a reader who may be new to the concept (in some aspects, me included).
Presentation-wise, the cover art looks haphazard, like it was done in some sort of Microsoft Word haze. I'd rather have compelling student work on the cover than this (and why is there never any clear explanation of the cover?)