The FotoDialogo Method (Paperback)

This book deals with issues of cross-cultural communications that stem from the lack of shared meaning that different cultural groups embrace. Shared meaning is built on mutual understanding that emerges when people at every level of the community can speak about what really concerns them. In the FotoDialogo Method, Hispanic women use pictures and storytelling to express their concerns about the disabling effects of social, cultural and economic marginalization associated with the low-income minority population in the USA. The FotoDialogo Method is an approach for engaging community-based organizations in dialogue with their multicultural client population. It consists of a series of black-and-white drawings that were inspired by real-life stories told by inner-city women of color. These are used to initiate collective dialogue and create illustrated life-based narratives or "fotonovelas." The author describes the development of the method and its impact on the Hispanic community in Massachusetts where the pilot study took place. This should be useful for adult educators, researchers and community organizers working across cultural borderlines.