A162: The Art and Science of Portraiture

Created by Dr. Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot four decades ago, portraiture is a method of social science inquiry distinctive in its blending of art and science, aesthetics and empiricism. This seminar illuminates the origins, purposes, and features of this method, placing it within the larger discourses of social science disciplinary frameworks, and mapping it on the broader terrain of qualitative research. Through researching and writing portraits of individuals, institutions, relationships, processes, or concepts, seminar members learn the tools and strategies of rigorous data gathering, systematic empirical description, discerning analysis, and narrative composition. This is a working seminar with class members serving as discussion leaders, critics, and respondents of each other’s work.