Center for Documentary Studies (CDS)

http://cds.aas.duke.edu/
“The Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University teaches, engages in, and presents documentary work grounded in collaborative partnerships and extended fieldwork that uses photography, film/video, audio, and narrative writing to capture and convey contemporary memory, life, and culture. CDS values documentary work that balances community goals with individual artistic expression. CDS promotes documentary work that cultivates progressive change by amplifying voices, advancing human dignity, engendering respect among individuals, breaking down barriers to understanding, and illuminating social injustices. CDS conducts its work for local, regional, national, and international audiences.”
Image and Identity Research Collective (IIRC)

The Image and Identity Research Collective (IIRC)

http://www.iirc.mcgill.ca/
The Image and Identity Research Collective (IIRC) is a project initiated by Sandra Weber from the Department of Education at Concordia University (Montreal), and Claudia Mitchell from the Faculty of Education at McGill University (Montreal).

The collaborators of IIRC share an interest in developing interdisciplinary, image-based research methodologies and artistic forms of representation for the Humanities and Social Sciences. In our individual and collective projects, we variously use video, film, art installations, photography, performance, and fictional practice to research questions relating to gender, age, body, popular culture, and/or identity. Many of our projects involve critical self-study and collective inquiry.

In addition to the small group of founding researchers from Concordia and McGill Universities, IIRC's collaborators include faculty and graduate students from other universities as well as independent artists and researchers. Members of the collective use the website to post their work and to "house" bibliographies and other resources that are useful for image-based research.

The Different kinds of projects which fall within the work of the research collective include:
• The uses of photography in memory work for self-study
• The use of literary forms and live performance to raise critical questions or to represent research and theory
• The exploration of self and identity through artistic installations/productions
• The production and use of documentary/artistic video for theorizing and reporting research

International Visual Sociology Association (IVSA)

http://sjmc.cla.umn.edu/faculty/schwartz/ivsa/about.html
The International Visual Sociology Association (IVSA) is a nonprofit, democratic, and academically oriented professional organization devoted to the visual study of society, culture, and social relationships. IVSA membership is open to any person regardless of occupation, citizenship, or residence. The organizational membership represents a wide spectrum of disciplines, including sociology, anthropology, education, visual communication, photography, art, journalism, and related fields.

The purpose of the IVSA is to promote the study, production, and use of visual images, data, and materials in teaching, research, and applied activities, and to foster the development and use of still photographs, film, video, and electronically transmitted images in sociology and other social sciences and related disciplines and applications. Such purposes include but are not limited to the following:

• documentary studies of every day life in contemporary communities;
• the interpretive analysis of art and popular visual representations of society;
• studies of the messages, meanings, and social impact of advertising and the commercial use of images;
• the analysis of archival images as sources of data on society and culture;
• the study of the purpose and meaning of image-making such as recreational and family photography and videography.

Canadian Creative Arts in Health, Training, and Education

http://www.cmclean.com/
“This eNews/Journal is your creative arts, health, training and education connection. You'll find information about creative arts approaches in staff health and wellness, arts raising awareness about social issues and health, information and resources that will benefit those involved in gerontology and education, nursing education, social work, medical education & health training.”