The Visual Studies Companion explores visual studies globally, combining newly commissioned essays with influential archival articles from the Visual Studies journal to broaden dialogue and deepen understanding across disciplines.

This volume delivers a rich, multi-format approach to visual scholarship. It features traditional essays, interviews, visual essays, a syllabus for teaching with visual studies, critical pieces reprinted from the journal, and reflexive dialogues. Readers will explore visual studies as both a field of study and methodological lens, examining its relationship to various disciplines including art history, cultural studies, sociology, and anthropology. The Visual Studies Companion addresses practices of writing, visualizing, and communicating ideas; distribution of knowledge from film and photography to exhibitions and political discourse; and critical debates on ethics, coloniality, representation, and inclusion.

This wide-ranging, interdisciplinary volume will be of interest to students and scholars across the social sciences and the arts and humanities (e.g., sociology, anthropology, geography, cultural and media studies, documentary film and photography, information technology, education, communication studies, art history, and visual culture), as well as other fields concerned with image-based study.

Susan Hansen (AU/UK) is President of the IVSA and Co-Chair of the Visual Methods Group at Middlesex University, London; former Editor of Visual Studies; and founding Editor of Nuart Journal. Their work applies ethnomethodological and conversation analytic methods to visual studies.

Kate Korroch (US) is Editor of Visual Studies, Editorial Assistant for Art Journal, and founding Editor of Refract: An Open Access Visual Studies Journal. Their work examines queer and trans visual culture and art history.

Julie Patarin-Jossec (FR/US) is Visiting Assistant Professor in Sociology at DePaul University, Chicago, and Editor of Visual Studies, Echographies: Journal of Sound Ethnography, and Immaterial Books. Their work explores queer sea ecologies through video ethnography.