Speaker: Mieko Yoshihama, Professor, U-M School of Social Work

Abstract: Since the 2011 triple disasters of earthquakes, tsunami, and nuclear power plant accidents in northern Japan, over 50 women have participated in the PhotoVoice Project, an ongoing participatory action research aimed at improving the national and local disaster policies and their implementation. Repeated photo-taking and interactive discussions have created communicative space where women grieve and grow in groups while conducting environmental assessments and taking various social actions using art, in the form of photography and narratives, which have stimulated collective, critical consciousness among and beyond participants. This presentation weaves together the process, outcome, and impact of the project along with an examination of theoretical, methodological and ethical issues.

Speaker Bio: Mieko Yoshihama, Ph.D., LMSW, ACSW is a professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Michigan. Her research and teaching focus on the prevention of gender-based violence and the promotion of the safety and wellbeing of marginalized populations and communities. In 2011, Dr. Yoshihama co-founded the Women's Network for East Japan Disaster and conducted a study of gender-based violence in the wake of the disaster, while also creating what has evolved into the PhotoVoice Project, Inc. (photovoicejapan.org).