240529 UE Visual ethnographies of science Investigating knowledge production through media practice (P5) (2021W)

The course focuses on the use of visual ethnographic practices in the context of science. Students will be introduced to media practices that have been used in anthropological and ethnographic research, focusing on film, sound recording, and montage. Simultaneously, they will learn to think about the diverse spaces and practices through which scientific knowledge is produced, negotiated, and contested, from the laboratory to the city, and the ways in which scientific knowledge has been represented. Classes will involve workshops in which students participate in hands-on media work, and seminars in which students discuss ethnographic films and key texts concerning the representations of science, and present and analyse their own work in progress. Students conduct a fieldwork assignment where they implement what they have learnt and interrogate examples of scientific practice. This assignment will result in short films, which will be designed, filmed, and edited in groups of three students.General information:Classes are set up to create a workspace in a creative and collaborative atmosphere. In the first block, students learn how science and technology studies (STS) scholars think about knowledge practices and study examples of anthropological "process films" that have been made to support the study of practices. In the workshops of the second block, students obtain hands-on experience with skills required to create process films themselves (camera, sound recording, montage, and co-creation). Finally, students conduct a fieldwork assignment to implement what they have learnt. In groups of three, they create a process film about a knowledge practice that is relevant to STS. In student-oriented feedback seminars, students present their initial footage in the classroom and engage in peer-to-peer discussion about their experiences and challenges, while the lecturers links student experiences back to core discussions in the field of STS and visual anthropology.Vienna Visual Anthropology Lab:During the workshops, students work with equipment that is available in the equipment library of the Vienna Visual Anthropology Lab: camera sets, shoulder rigs, and specialised sound recording devices. For the fieldwork assignment, students are encouraged to use the Lab’s equipment to gain experience with different techniques and materials besides the ones they are already familiar with. Materials can be borrowed free of charge, using an online reservation system. For technical support with the film projects, the course tutor Viktoria Paar is available during the opening hours in the Lab (room A0421 of the Anthropology Department): *Tuesdays 10-14 hrs*Wednesdays 12-15 hrs*Thursdays 11-14COVID-19:The course is to be taught face-to-face (if possible). For the filmmaking assignment, students are expected to be in Vienna so that they can visit the selected research location several times with their research group. Occasional online participation in classes is possible for participants* who cannot be present in connection with COVID-19 (e.g. in case of symptoms or after a positive test). Adjustments may be made due to applicable regulations and policies.