The Art and Science of Portraiture

Harvard HGSE

Created by Dr. Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot four decades ago, portraiture is a method of social science inquiry distinctive in its blending of art and science, aesthetics and empiricism. This seminar illuminates the origins, purposes, and features of this method, placing it within the larger discourses of social science disciplinary frameworks, and mapping it on the broader terrain of qualitative research. Through researching and writing portraits of individuals, institutions, relationships,…