ABSTRACT
This chapter gathers a body of literature from fields that examine communities visually. Works from anthropology, sociology, and documentary photography are brought together to show how such work is relevant to communication studies and, more specifically, to the study of communication and community. The literature is organized into four categories along two dimensions: small scope and large scope as well as gemeinschaft and gesellschaft (small-scope/gemeinschaft, large-scope/gemeinschaft, small-scope/gesellschaft, and largescope/gesellschaft). This typology is examined for its theoretical qualities and the implications it has for the study of visual images. The second part of the essay examines the visual study of community within the communication field with emphasis on theoretical, methodological, and ethical issues as well as issues pertaining to photographic truth. Visual research methods have the potential to change the way communication and community inquiry are conducted and the way communication and community phenomena are understood.
