Witnessing e-waste through participatory photography in Ghana
Peter C. Little
Abstract
Drawing on ethnographic research in Agbogbloshie, an urban scrapyard in Accra, Ghana that has become the subject of a contentious global electronic waste (e-waste) narrative, this chapter explores the extent to which participatory photography augments contemporary toxic studies in general and e-waste studies in particular. The chapter contends that engaging with participatory visualization and documentation can provide vital contextualization for debates grappling with the toxic injustices and environmental politics of e-waste labor. It explores how and why visual techniques in participatory action research matter in global environmental justice studies in general and postcolonial e-waste studies in Ghana in particular. The chapter engages several questions, including: What happens when e-waste workers are involved image makers? What does this participatory photography do to and for representations of Agbogbloshie? To what extent can this alternative visualization shift understandings of a place and space that has become a central node of global e-wasteland and digital pollution narratives? Moreover, how does engagement with this alternative approach to witnessing and knowing e-waste draw attention to or renew critical discussion of researcher positionality and ethnographic reflexivity?