One of the critiques I have of the way so much research is published and presented is that the research is intelligible and accessible to a small percentage of specialists. An underlying theme in my approach to disseminating the fruits of my research is “the democratization of knowledge.” I want my research to contribute to the ways in which the human community needs to mature, particularly where the lack of communal human growth has forced some people into horrific living conditions and existential fear. If knowledge is to be democratized, research must be accessible and intelligible to a large and diverse community of persons.
The Digital Multimedia Story
Digital Storytelling helps me to see things differently. I have done significant amounts of research on written media, namely, books and journal articles. I have presented the results of this research in similar ways. I remain a strong proponent of these textual qualitative methods and they will continue to be a valuable way to conduct and present research. However, as I began to engage in research using primarily photographic images and video, I began to see things differently. The process of organizing and presenting my research materials by editing photographs and producing multimedia presentations allowed me to see things differently than I would have through the more traditional methods with which I was familiar. An especially powerful example is the photograph I took, “Best Dad Ever.” I have long known about the plight of the immigrant family, and advocated empathy for families who take great risks only for the possibility of saving their own lives and the lives of those in their care. But looking through the camera lens at actual families who are doing this, and digitally editing the images of these families, helped me to understand the situation at a more visceral level. I was not looking at a new social injustice, but I was looking at it differently. My hope is that in presenting this research in a multimedia format on an accessible platform, more people also will begin to “see things differently” than they have before. Perhaps this new view will impact them at a deep affective level, and spring them into action on behalf of the oppressed.
A Catholic Ethic of Risk
One of the reasons that persons who are immigrating are ignored or neglected is due to the process of “othering.” People easily, and unconsciously, classify those with whom they do not identify as “someone other,” and because the other is not part of the social groups with which they identify, they don’t bother with “others.” Evolutionary psychology has identified internal processes that are responsible for this. In prehistoric times and beyond, a strong identification with one’s social group was necessary for individual and group survival. However, the Gospel calls all humanity to a broader and more inclusive vision.
The University of San Diego is a Catholic institution. Over the centuries, the Catholic Church has distilled some key theological and biblical themes to guide the Church in action that responds to social injustice. Two of these themes are: 1) the dignity of the human person, and 2) the call to family, community, and participation. Theologian Gemma Talud Cruz observes that these themes “make clear the message that when discipleship animates citizenship, meeting the ‘other’ is, ultimately, a sacred encounter” (2011, 307). While she correctly notes that the Catholic Church is not “spotless when it comes to fighting for the defenseless, [it] has a considerable record of taking great risks by standing on the side of the voiceless and powerless” (2011, 309). Cruz concludes that any Catholic response to the phenomenon of othering must include an ethic of risk. This demands that we consciously become more vulnerable and move beyond our instinctual fear and rejection of the other that evolutional psychologists have identified. A Gospel response demands this. In imitation of Jesus, those who wish to be faithful to the Gospel and to the brothers and sisters of Jesus must risk the same vulnerability that Jesus embraced in his mission to serve all (Mt. 25: 37-40; Mk. 10:43-45).
I will add multimedia storytelling to my repertoire of research methods. This will make me a better researcher and abet my goal to democratize knowledge. Most importantly, I hope that it will bring to light the plight of persons in desperate need, persons just like you, and me, and those whom we love.
Cruz, G.T. (2011). Toward An Ethic of Risk: Catholic Social Teaching and Immigration Reform. Studies in Christian Ethics, 24(3), 294-310.