four note friday 1.1 | Q&A with Mandy

Here we are. Thank you so much for being here. This first proper issue will be an introduction. I am going to pose four questions to myself and respond such that readers can gain a better understanding of who I am and what this space is all about.

☺️ Q1: Who are you, and what led you to this work?

My name is Dr. Amanda O. Latz (Mandy), and I am a college professor. Since the age of 18, I've either been going to college or working in higher education. This coming academic year will be my 15th year as a full-time faculty member. Prior to entering the professoriate, I coached at the Division I level, worked in student-athlete support services, owned and operated a small business, served as an adjunct at a four-year institution and a community college, and worked in a research center. You can learn more about me and my scholarship through LinkedIn and Google Scholar.

I learned about photovoice during my doctoral studies in the late 2000s upon attending the annual International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry Conference hosted at the University of Illinois. Then I used photovoice for my dissertation, which was focused on how community college students construct their educational lives. That project changed my life. It also shaped the teaching, research, and service I do as a professor. One example is that I am currently serving as the President of the Council for the Study of Community Colleges, something I could never have imagined doing earlier in my career.

That photovoice dissertation was later parlayed into a book on photovoice (see above), a practical guide I wished I'd had. The book bloomed from a desire to help others. I knew the interest was there, as many students and scholars had reached out to me for guidance after the dissertation was completed and sliced into a series of journal articles. That book opened doors for me and situated me as photovoice methodologist with deep experience and expertise.

This project—photovoice field notes—is coming from that same place of desire to help others. While I am not quite ready to write another book, I am always ready to connect with folks about their photovoice projects. My vision is that this space can help me do just that.

❤️ Q2: What’s something about your research philosophy that influences how you work?

Research should do one of two things. It should either work against human suffering or work against the degradation of the natural world. Put another way, research should be put to work in service of freedom and flourishing.

☀️ Q3: What have you been up to this summer?

Spending time at Tribune Showprint a few hours each week has been a pure delight! An encounter with Rick Griffith at Matter sent me back to Muncie with a purpose, which I've been pursuing inside the shop.

Right now, I am trying to learn everything letterpress printing can teach me. Especially photovoice. Something important yet still elusive is there, and I am working toward it. This mini-summer internship, which I hope continues indefinitely, has been so generative. The new relationships, skills and knowledge, and thinking space have been absolutely wonderful.

💯 Q4: How are you making time for this?

To be sure, I have a full full-time job. Yet this is one of those things I must do, and I am, therefore, doing it. Blocking time on my calendar and keeping accountable to an established publishing schedule will do the trick. Hopefully. At least for now. Presently, I have two hours blocked each Friday for newsletter writing. That approach will likely change over time as things shift and evolve.

🥹 Thanks for spending a moment with me this Friday.
💌 If you’re new here, welcome! I hope this space becomes one you look forward to each week.

📬 Have a question you want me to answer in a future issue? Reach me at photovoicefieldnotes@gmail.com. I'd love to hear from you.

Thanks again for being here.

Warmly,
Mandy
photovoice field notes
photovoicefieldnotes.com