Visual Anthropology: An Introduction to Ethnography as Film

Undergraduate / Graduate

This seminar introduces students to Visual Anthropology through a survey of film as an instrument and object of ethnographic practice. Specifically, it explores ethnographic film as a genre for representing "reality," anthropological knowledge and distinct cultural lives. We will examine how ethnographic film and its proto-cinematic precedents (e.g., the panorama, the magic lantern) emerged in particular intellectual and political economic contexts as well as how subsequent conceptual and formal innovations in audiovisual production, including recent digital transformations, have shaped the genre. We will also consider social responses to ethnographic film in terms of 1) the contexts for producing and circulating these works, 2) the ethical and political concerns raised by cross-cultural representation and 3) the development of indigenous media and other practices in conversation with ethnographic film. Throughout the course, we will situate Visual Anthropology within the larger anthropological project for representing "culture," addressing the status of ethnographic film in relation to other documentary practices including written ethnography, museum exhibitions, photography, documentary film, graphic illustrations ("manga" ethnography), and new digital forms of engagement (Web 2.0, interactive gaming, augmented & virtual reality). Besides film screenings and writing exercises, students will have an opportunity to develop and "pitch" their own original Visual Anthro project.