The Art and Science of Portraiture [Hardcover]

Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot (Author), Jessica Hoffmann Davis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 11, 1997 | ISBN-10: 0787910643 | ISBN-13: 978-0787910648 | Edition: 1

"The writing is beautiful, the ideas persuasive, and the picture it paints of the process of careful observation is one that every writer should read. . . . A rich and wonderful book."
--American Journal of EducationA landmark contribution to the field of research methodology, this remarkable book illuminates the origins, purposes, and features of portraiture--placing it within the larger discourse on social science inquiry and mapping it onto the broader terrain of qualitative research.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The writing is beautiful, the ideas persuasive, and the picture it paints of the process of careful observation is one that every writer should read. . . . Clearly a statement about the seriousness, the difficulty, the judgmental standards, and ultimately, the reliability of this form of qualitative research. . . . A rich and wonderful book." --American Journal of Education

"Rich in insight and gracefully written. . . . The authors do a masterful job here of clarifying the dimensions of this dynamic layered research process. They make a convincing case for portraiture as a useful tool for exploring the complexity and aesthetic of experience, particulary educational experience. Most important, this volume advances portraiture as a generative research process that produces documents of both 'inquiry AND intervention.'" --Journal of Critical Inquiry Into Curriculum and Instruction

"This bold fascinating book attempts the impossible: to describe, even to start explaining a little what makes a good portrait?tackling brilliantly the ages old issue of how the vivid particular and the abstract universal can live in the same portrait. The lay reader will be delighted by this graceful book, but so will the human scientist looking for guidance in carrying out qualitative research. Traditional social scientists should read it, too, for when they have finished making up their number tables, they must translate them into narrative portraiture if they want their findings to matter." --Jerome Bruner, research professor of psychology, senior research fellow in law, New York University

"In this daring study, the authors show us that the representation of a community or an institution is an art as well as a science. They acknowledge the imaginative, the idiosyncratic, the sympathetic aspects inherent in the undertaking, revealing how attempting to suppress them risks distortion and desiccation." --James Ackerman, Arthur Kingsley, Professor Emeritus of Fine Arts, Harvard University

"Unique in this text is the serious and informed concern for aesthetic qualities of each presentation, a concern that allows for exploration of contexts and a crossing of the gulfs between art and empiricism. Breaking through old either/ors, the authors invite us to see differently, to hear differently, and?in some fascinating manner?to understand." --Maxine Greene, William F. Russell, Professor Emerita in the Foundations of Education, Teachers College, Columbia University

From the Inside Flap

Portraiture is a method of inquiry that shares some of the features of other qualitative research methods?such as ethnography, case study, and narrative?but it is distinctive in its blAnding of aesthetics and empiricism in an effort to capture the complexity, dynamics, and subtlety of human experience and organizational life. Portraiture first came to prominence in the works of Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, who used it to document the culture of schools, the life stories of individuals, and the relationships among families, communities, and schools.The Art and Science of Portraiture illuminates the origins, purposes, and features of portraiture?placing it within the larger discourse on social science inquiry and mapping it onto the broader terrain of qualitative research. It delineates the processes, methods, and strategies of research design, data collection, and analysis?underscoring the structure and improvisation, the order and the creativity. It also charts the development of the portrait and the shaping of the narrative, blAnding literary principles, artistic resonance, and scientific rigor.A landmark contribution to the field of research methodology and an indispensable resource for the social scientist, this lyric book will also provide general readers with a new and illuminating way of viewing the world.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 293 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (August 11, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787910643
• ISBN-13: 978-0787910648
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #367,795 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Required Book for Qualitative Research Methods, May 9, 2009

By 

Keevin Lewis "Keevin and Quian Lewis" (New Orleans, Louisiana) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Art and Science of Portraiture (Paperback)

This book is great for students learning how to write up qualitative research. Great Book. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Portraiture as a Qualitative Approach, February 1, 2010

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John P. Dolan "Johnny Calling Bird" (CO) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Art and Science of Portraiture (Paperback)

Great insight into looking at qualitative analysis. It comes up a little short in the framework for application.

5 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Growing Edge, June 9, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Art and Science of Portraiture (Paperback)

This book is at the front of the line when it comes to psychological research. If you want to learn how to tell a story of the human experience, first you must read this book.