Office Hrs: TBA

Anthropology is a word-driven discipline. However, “it has tended to ignore the visual-pictorial world perhaps because of distrust of the ability of images to convey abstract ideas ” (Ruby, 1996). Visual anthropology is today one of the most rapidly growing sub-field in cultural anthropology. This course will consider the problems of representation; problems particular to visual media as well as problems of representation per se. Culture is manifested through visible symbols embedded in gestures, ceremonies, ritual performances, and artifacts situated in constructed and natural environments, from cave paintings to museum displays. The use of these visual aspects conveys and shapes anthropological knowledge. This course focuses on a critical examination of ethnographic films, beginning with early documentaries and extending to more contemporary examples and photography. The ongoing explosion of technology in the area of visual representation ‒ including digital cameras, handy-cams, digital editing programs for computers, the television and the Internet ‒ holds exciting potential for ethnography. Nevertheless, this course is not meant to be a hands-on production course. There are two sides to visual anthropology: reception (the study of visual imagery) and production (the creation of ethnographic visual imagery). Students will be introduced to the history of visual anthropology an