Telling stories with images: photographic interviews in a comparative research on social “resilience” and resistance to the crisis

Abstract

This methodological article analyses the use of the photographic interview in a study of social, cultural and communitarian household strategies of “resilience” during the current economic and social crisis. The research was carried out in the framework of the European project RESCuE with the participation of nine European countries differently affected by the crisis. The text reflects on the contributions and the enrichment that the use of the technique had made possible: more and more diverse ways of telling about practices of resilience (individual, group relationed and communitarian), experiences and interpretations in everyday life and the chance to internationally compare materials and results. Furthermore, the limits and obstacles to the use of the photographic interview in our research are fully analyzed, together with the consideration of the precautions to take during the design and implementation of this technique in a way to avoid the limitations to the potentialities that photo-elicitation offers.