Towards an Embodied and Graphic Based Qualitative Sociology: Methodological Reflections on Reflexivity and Pictorial Embodiment in the Field of Health and Illness

Authors

Alice Scavarda, Università di Torino, ItalyFollow
Barbara Grüning, Università Bicocca di Milano, ItalyFollow

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to discuss the comicisation of qualitative sociology, i.e., the use of comics as research methods and analytical tools in sociology, drawing from case studies related to illness and neurodivergence. In the first part, we will pinpoint how comics as qualitative research methods enhance the reflexivity of sociologists themselves in the various phases of their research projects: from the definition of a case study to the choice of research and analysis techniques up to the communication of research outputs. In line with El Refaie’s (2012) concept of pictorial embodiment, we will show how producing drawn versions of the self helps to both enhance extended reflexivity and engage with physicality. In the second part of the paper we will illustrate two research experiences, related to the interdisciplinary research area of the Graphic Medicine (Czerwiec et al., 2010). The selected case studies are particularly meaningful in two respects: first, they show how the use of comics in qualitative sociological research contributes to go beyond standard individualistic epistemologies and helps to highlight meso and macrostructural factors which are crucial to analyse social phenomena. Second, they shed light on how comics provide multiple opportunities to portray embodiment and reflect upon the social and cultural dimensions of embodiment processes, thanks to their language and socio-cultural specificities as a medium and cultural object. We will conclude with some reflections on how graphic narratives may be used in qualitative research to investigate how socially marginalised people experience daily interactions and social conditions.

Keywords

comics-based research, sociology, comics studies, reflexivity, embodiment

Author Bio(s)

Alice Scavarda is an assistant professor at the University of Turin. She has co-founded in Italy the association “Graphic medicine.” Please direct correspondence to alice.scavarda@unito.it

Barbara Grüning is an associate professor at the University of Milan Bicocca. In 2015 she has co-founded the research committee “’Comics and Graphic Narratives” within the International Association of Comparative Literature.

Publication Date

4-21-2025

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2025.8164

Recommended APA Citation

Scavarda, A., & Grüning, B. (2025). Towards an embodied and graphic based qualitative sociology: Methodological reflections on reflexivity and pictorial embodiment in the field of health and illness. The Qualitative Report, 30(4), 3458-3475. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2025.8164