ANT4390 - EXPLORATIONS IN VISUAL ANTHROPOLOGY (Fall Semester)

Section #001, Reference # 0161, Runs 8/28 to 12/8

Meets: Monday and Wednesday, 3:30- 4:45 PM, Graham Center (GC) 286

Instructor: Dr. Steven Mizrach, faculty adjunct professor, anthropology

Office Hours: none, instructor is an adjunct with no office

1. Hockings, Paul, ed., Principles of Visual Anthropology, Morton de Gruyter, New York, 1995.
2. Nielsen, Jakob, Multimedia and Hypertext, AP Professional, Mountain View, 1995.

OVERVIEW: The purpose of this course is to teach you visual anthropology as a research practice. For some anthropologists, visual anthropology is the semiotic study of the visual arts and media created by other cultures (Iranian sculpture, Japanese television, African performances, Navajo sand painting, etc.) We will discuss this, but our main focus is on the second definition of what visual anthropology is - the use of visual media as a tool for anthropological research and presentation. We will discuss visual anthropology both as a "handmaiden" to research whose goal is a textual product, and as an end-in-itself to create a visual product which explicates cultural realities. In this class, you will explore the three modes through which visual anthropologists attempt to do this - still photography, motion film and video, and computer-based hypermedia. The class will be a mix of discussion of theoretical and ethical issues, combined with practical "how-to" tips for visual production.

CLASS SCHEDULE: This class is small, so hopefully along with lecture, we will try and incorporate showings of ethnographic films (the best way to learn is by example), demonstrations, and plenty of discussion and dialogue. This schedule is a loose outline, and in a class this size we can be flexible on certain matters.

CLASS ASSIGNMENTS: This class will not have a midterm or final. Learning visual anthropology is really more like learning to do something than acquiring rote knowledge… so for this class you will be evaluated by three projects that you do, each worth a maximum of 33 points. The first is an individual project, the second two are group projects. However, group members will be evaluated individually.

1. Ethnographic Photo Essay: Choose some cultural phenomenon - it doesn't have to be a 'foreign' culture, it could be some part of your own - and attempt to describe it through still photography and text. There are no "hard and fast" rules for length, but I expect a good essay would make use of anywhere from 15-25 photographs, and be 5-8 pages in length. For this assignment, I expect a "photo essay" to consist of photographs, captions (that provide context), and explanatory text somewhere on the page (most people put it at the bottom). The photos can be 35 mm prints attached to the page by glue or tape, or they can be digital images. Follow some of the theoretical principles we discuss in class in order to create a photo essay that helps explicate some aspect of culture. This project is an individual one - each class member will do it individually.
2. Ethnographic Video: This will be a group project. Each group should hopefully have one video camera for their usage. For the second project, your group (which should be 4-5 people) will create an ethnographic video. Instead of still pictures, you will use moving images and sound to attempt to show and explain some cultural phenomenon. For the purposes of this assignment, your final product should be a 5-10 minute video on VHS videotape. I expect you to rotate roles in creating this video among people in your group - i.e. don't have one person monopolize all the filming, all the editing, all the interviewing, or all the sound work. When you turn in the video, I also want the group to turn in a 1-2 page sheet explaining what role each group member played in its production, so you can be evaluated fairly and individually. We will show the videos in class.
3. Multimedia Project: This will also be a group project. We will remain in the same groups as for #2. Hopefully, the groups will each have access to at least one PC or Mac computer for digitizing and production. Your group, for this project, will create an ethnographic multimedia project. Once again, identify some type of cultural phenomenon you want to document through multimedia. I don't care about issues of software, platform, hardware, etc. - however you want to create it is up to your group. I just need to be able to view it. The goal is to combine two or more types of media (preferably digital images and digital motion video with text and perhaps audio) in some type of interactive format that can be viewed on a computer. When you turn in the multimedia project (on disk or CD-R or whatever), also turn in a sheet explaining the roles each group member played on the project. Once again, I hope that you rotate roles as far as digitization, organizing, and production. We will also try and display the multimedia projects in class.

GRADING PROCESS: Each project is worth 33 points, with, again, the final two projects being based on individual assessments of group contributions. If you earn 90 or higher points you have an "A"; 81 a "B"; 71 a "C"; 61 a "D"; etc. Frankly, I want everyone in this class to make an "A," and maybe even produce things that are good enough to show at film festivals or other exhibitions.