Using Photographs to Integrate Liberal Arts Learning in Business Education

The inclusion of photographic approaches in the business classroom can incorporate missing elements of liberal education into business education, which were highlighted in a recent Carnegie study of undergraduate business education. Building on photographic methods in social science research, we identify three categories of photographic approaches that can enhance undergraduate liberal arts modes of thinking: (a) archival or researcher-created images translated into in-class activities, (b) photo-elicitation course projects in which students envision future careers and step into the shoes of another, and (c) photovoice courses built around semester-long projects to generate student self-reflection. These in-class, grassroots efforts allow professors to provide undergraduate business students the opportunities to learn through multiple framing and reflective exploration of meaning.