ANTH 5010 - Visual Anthropology

This course approaches photography and film as modes for representing and interpreting culture. The course examines the genre of ethnographic cinema and its relationship to wider discussions about documentary and nonfiction film. The course also considers the place of the photo essay in anthropological scholarship. Building on this dual foundation, students apply theories and methods from visual anthropology to produce a multimodal (visual and verbal) ethnographic essay with a clearly defined visual approach. Combining photography and ethnography, students generate primary-source images to anchor an original social analysis through careful and critical attention to the ethics and politics of images in anthropological research and representation.

Requisites:
Credit Hours: 4
Repeat/Retake Information: May not be retaken.
Lecture/Lab Hours: 4.0 lecture
Grades: Eligible Grades: A-F,WP,WF,WN,FN,AU,I
Learning Outcomes:

Students will be able to describe major theory and methods in visual anthropology.
Students will be able to assess the ethics of representation and the politics of images in relation to cross-cultural research and communication.
Students will be able to demonstrate self-reflexivity about their biases and expectations in addressing visual representation with special attention to questions of positionality and identity markers such as race, gender, ethnicity, sexuality and ability.
Students will be able to investigate complex questions of other cultures in a rigorous and systematic manner, and to articulate answers to these questions that reflect a sensitivity to cultural difference.
Students will be able to interpret intercultural experience from their own and others’ worldview and to act in an open and supportive manner, without judgment, that recognizes the feelings of another cultural group.
Students will be able to make effective anthropological arguments through visual and written representation and communicate those arguments to a public audience.
Students will be able to prepare a draft of a publishable article following the conventions and requirements of a targeted academic journal.