Universität Wien

240030 VO BM7 Introduction to Visual Anthropology (2024S)

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 24 - Kultur- und Sozialanthropologie
Moodle

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Details

Language: English

Examination dates

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Tuesday 05.03. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal II NIG Erdgeschoß
  • Tuesday 19.03. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal II NIG Erdgeschoß
  • Tuesday 09.04. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal II NIG Erdgeschoß
  • Tuesday 16.04. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal II NIG Erdgeschoß
  • Tuesday 23.04. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal II NIG Erdgeschoß
  • Tuesday 30.04. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal II NIG Erdgeschoß
  • Tuesday 07.05. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal II NIG Erdgeschoß
  • Tuesday 14.05. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal II NIG Erdgeschoß
  • Tuesday 21.05. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal II NIG Erdgeschoß
  • Tuesday 28.05. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal II NIG Erdgeschoß
  • Tuesday 04.06. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal II NIG Erdgeschoß
  • Tuesday 11.06. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal II NIG Erdgeschoß

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

This lecture series offers an introduction to Visual Anthropology. Visual Anthropology is a subfield of anthropology that does not only study visual culture but also integrates practices of visual media production (especially filmmaking) in anthropological research and reporting. Despite its consolidation as a subdiscipline with its own institutions and discussion forums, Visual Anthropology has always remained a highly dynamic field, and its practitioners have formulated varied and sometimes opposing interpretations of what visual anthropology is or should be. The recent renaming of the subdiscipline as ‘Multimodal Anthropology’ is an example of this. Students will learn about these different ideas and practices by studying literature, films, and media projects that will be discussed in the lectures. Students will arrive at an in-depth understanding of the history of the field and will be invited to formulate their own ideas about the future of the field.

The following topics will be discussed:
• Visual Anthropology and Multimodal Anthropology
• Camera-based ethnography
• Montage and theory construction
• Shared anthropology, reflexivity, and decolonizing anthropology

Learning goals:
At the end of the course, students will have substantiated knowledge about:
• key ideas and practices in the field of visual anthropology, and important debates in the field;
• how visual anthropology approaches have responded to changing technological and social-political conditions, and to shifting theoretical frameworks in the history of the broader discipline of anthropology;
• through their comparative viewings of anthropological films: how certain cinematographic choices regarding camera work, sound, and editing express certain theoretical or methodological approaches.

By gaining this knowledge, students will be challenged to:
• start formulating their own view on the role of (audio)visual media practices in anthropological research;
• to envision implementing such practices in the future.

The course is supported by an accompanying tutorial.
Tutor: Paul Katterl

Tutoring sessions always at 16:45-18:15
10.04. SR D
17.04. Übungsraum
25.04. SR A
02.05. SR D
08.05. SR A
21.05. HS C
12.06. SR D

Assessment and permitted materials

There will be a final exam for this class worth 100% of the final grade. This exam will include 25 multiple choice questions (50 points) and two open questions that need to be answered in ½ A4 per question (50 points), based on the assigned study materials (both readings and films).
The exam will take 1,5 hours. The time calculation is based on 40 minutes for the multiple-choice questions (1,5 minute per question), 30 minutes for the writing of 1 A4 page, and 20 minutes for revision of the answers. The exam is planned in presence, on paper, in the classroom. Students will not be allowed to bring reading materials or digital equipment to the exam. A dictionary is allowed.

A maximum of 10% bonus points can be credited upon successful completion of a multimodal mid-term assignment that reflects on students’ participation in a multimodal event organised by the Vienna Visual Anthropology Lab during the semester.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

A = 1 (Very Good): 87 - 100%
B = 2 (Good): 75 - 86,99%
C = 3 (Satisfactory): 63 - 74,99%
D = 4 (Enough): 50 - 62,99%
F = 5 (Not Enough): 00 - 49,99%

Examination topics

The study materials for the exam include literature and audio-visual materials. Links will be made available on Moodle. Each week, students study a film or other media production alongside literature. In the accompanying lectures, the lecturer highlights key ideas and backgrounds to deepen students' understanding of the literature and media works. The lectures should help students understand why certain readings/films have been selected and what to pay attention to while studying them.

For the final exam, students need to review all readings and films. While the lectures as such are not part of the examination, regular lecture attendance is strongly recommended for students who wish to pass the exam. The lectures will take in presence and will not be recorded.

Reading list

The readings for this course are interlinked with audio-visual materials that should be studied jointly, in advance of each class. The short list below is included to give an indication; a complete list for all classes will be distributed during the first class.

Visual and multimodal anthropology
Reading: Pink, S. 2016 (third or later editions). Ways of Seeing, Knowing and Showing. Chapter 2 of the book Doing Visual Ethnography. London: Sage, 33-48.
Reading: S. Collins, M. Durington, and H. Gill. 2017. Multimodality: An Invitation. American Anthropologist 119 (1): 142-153.

Sensory ethnography (part of the section on camera-based ethnography)
Film: Taylor, L. 2012. Leviathan (1 h. 27 minutes).
Reading: “Here, there and everywhere: Leviathan and the Digital Future of Observational Ethnography, by O. Landesman (2015), in Visual Anthropology Review 31 (1), 12-19.

Montage and theory construction
Film: T. Asch & N. Chagnon. 1975. The Ax Fight. Documentary Educational Resources (DER). 30 minutes.
Reading: C. Suhr & R. Willerslev. 2012. Can Film Show the Invisible?: The Work of Montage in Ethnographic Filmmaking. Current Anthropology, 53(3), 282-301.

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Tu 06.08.2024 12:26