Area Studies in a picture: images of your research

OSGA runs an annual Area Studies fieldwork photography competition to display the best images that our students have taken whilst out on their fieldwork.

A picture is worth a thousand words: make sure your picture is engaging, tells the viewer the story behind the image and the beneficial impact of your research. To take part and know more details, download the information document.

Winners of the 2024 competition

The principal and his shadow (Dina Dong)

Image of an elderly man sitting at the edge of a couch, looking outwards.

Image of an elderly man sitting at the edge of a couch, looking outwards.

A simple portrait, the existence of the photo indicates the possibility of a transnational household, and the subject, the lonely patriarch, reflects my grandfather’s lived reality. My mother emigrated from China in her 20s, meaning her visits to her father were limited. Contrasted by her older brother who lives next door in a multi-generational household, my mother’s household is largely absent in my grandfather’s life, inclusive of the expected care work. Rarely does my grandfather get to see the entire family under the same roof. In his silent apartment, he reflects on his life and the legacy left behind.
Dina Dong

 

Porous and Unbounded Areas (Facundo Herroro Clar)

View from the top of Beinn Mhòr, the highest peak on the Isle of South Uist (Scotland).

View from the top of Beinn Mhòr, the highest peak on the Isle of South Uist (Scotland).

View from the top of Beinn Mhòr, the highest peak on the Isle of South Uist (Scotland). Facundo Herrero Clar climbed the hill with three islanders to gain a panoramic view of the place. Their ethnography argued that the Gaelic-speaking part of Scotland has been framed as a distinct area separate from the rest of the country. Like many other Western regions, this 'area' might be approached through the frameworks and methodologies of Area Studies. From the top of the hill, the island, like the 'areas' in our field of study, does not have clear boundaries, but rather porous and unbounded ones.
Facundo Herroro Clar