Welcome

IVSA is a nonprofit, democratic, and academically oriented professional organization devoted to the visual study of society, culture, and social relationships. IVSA membership is open to any person regardless of occupation, citizenship, or residence.

The membership represents a wide spectrum of disciplines, including sociology, anthropology, design, education, visual communication, photography, art, journalism, and related fields. Many members use cameras, video, or other recording media to gather data for analysis, others study images produced by other members of cultures – from children’s drawings to the latest youtube, still others are on the forefront of developing new media and methods for the presentation of findings in their discipline.

We publish the respected, peer-reviewed journal Visual Studies. IVSA holds an international conference every summer in a different international location. In 2009 we met in Carlisle, UK, 2010 in Bologna, IT, and this year (2011) we will meet in Vancouver, CA - July 6-8. We hope to see you at a conference.