Example of a literature review map. I have always been a visual learner, having long engaged with diagrams, images, illustrations to help me think, enquire, describe and learn. So it will come as no surprise that I was attracted to Creswell's idea of creating a literature review map (see example on left). Keeping track of mountains of information is always a struggle. Software like RefWorks is great at organizing literature into specific topic areas, and making the task of referencing as simple as a touch of a few buttons. What it lacks is an all encompassing way of seeing how relevant the literature is to the topic in question. Certainly, a system of ratings or colour codes can help organize publications into a relevant hierarchy, but then it still takes a lot of scrolling or sifting to see what is of most relevance. The benefit of the literature map is the ease with which the material that is most closely related to the research topic is clearly visible. This approach is free from the constraints imposed by reference management software, there is no need to alphabetize, there is no need to open up one document at a time. By organizing literature in this visual map, it seems to me, that it is easier to keep in mind relevant publications, and it will also help identify subtopics of interest. In relation to my own research, I can see myself filling an entire wall with such a map. As much as there is research about photography, photographers and death, they can be found in such a wide variety of areas: humanities, social sciences, health sciences, grey literature, peer-reviewed, and, of course, combining a mix of visual and textual sources. For the purposes of the pilot study for this course, I am going to look at photographers' experiences photographing death and dying. Because this aspect of life is a basic human fact (albeit with a enormous cultural and historic variation in its actual expression), and because contemporary experiences on non-violent death is not a very widely researched topic in the area of photography, I will have to look far and wide. The fact that I want to explore visual representations of non-violent dying and death complicates my ability to find relevant publications. Much has been written about atrocity images or human rights photography or conflict photojournalism - all of which often include images of suffering and deceased individuals as a result of violence be it at the hands of humans or nature. But not much exists in the way of critical reflections on visual representations of dying by more natural means. Research into images of non-violent death that I have been able to locate include the way in which loved ones 'left behind' use images of decedents for mourning and memorial purposes. Jay Ruby's ethnographic work on the historical and current use of pictures of the dead is a groundbreaking work in that it brings a comprehensive look at visuals and death out of the shadows of history and into a present that is full-colour and technological. Another contemporary scholar is Emily West whose work on 21st century visual representations of non-violent death is broadening and extending some of the directions that Ruby's work alluded to but were not part of the scope of his work. She looks at relatively recent documentaries focusing on medicalized end of life in north america. Though much of her work is still 'forthcoming', I have been fortunate enough to have had contact with her following a conference presentation, and am keeping a close eye on her outputs. What I find lacking in these works is a look at dying from a more global perspective. Then there is literature on end of life from a health sciences perspective. To be honest, the bioethics debates about aid in dying / assisted dying / euthanasia (pick your term) has fascinated me. So too has the recent attention to increased access to palliative care. But, and this is at the root of my interests, it is when thinking of disparities between the violent/suffering deaths portrayed as the norm in low and middle income countries (LMIC) compared to the debates around highly medicalized, highly controlled deaths in high income countries, that my social justice nerve began to twig. If death is a natural part of life, no matter where we are in the world or the socio-economic ladder (to put it plainly), then dying with dignity (however you want to express dignity) is a should be available to all. How this related to images of death and dying, I am still trying to articulate... But, I digress, this is getting to be too much like a lit review....I think you get the point that I will be pulling material into my map from various disciplines and under various topics. I can see I will need to get a very large dry-erase board, and a lot of fine tipped markers for this.
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