Universität Wien

240051 VS Ethnography of the Archive - Narration, History and Power (3.3.6) (2018S)

Continuous assessment of course work

Participation at first session is obligatory!

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 40 participants
Language: German, English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Tuesday 13.03. 16:45 - 20:00 Seminarraum D, NIG 4. Stock
  • Monday 19.03. 15:00 - 18:15 Seminarraum D, NIG 4. Stock
  • Monday 16.04. 15:00 - 18:15 Seminarraum D, NIG 4. Stock
  • Monday 23.04. 15:00 - 18:15 Seminarraum D, NIG 4. Stock
  • Monday 07.05. 15:00 - 18:15 Seminarraum D, NIG 4. Stock
  • Monday 14.05. 15:00 - 18:15 Seminarraum D, NIG 4. Stock
  • Monday 04.06. 15:00 - 18:15 Seminarraum D, NIG 4. Stock

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Content and Goals

This seminar will explore different forms of archives and ways anthropologists conceptualize and engage with archives in the course of fieldwork. The seminar especially builds on approaches, which conceive archival work as ethnographic fieldwork, thus going beyond of a rigid and simplified binary view on historiography and ethnography.
The seminar offers the opportunity to explore the archive as a concept, institution and as a form of socio-cultural practice and process. This multidimensional approach will allow for substantially engaging with the question of how people and institutions produce history at different times, under different power constellations and through different media (documents, photos, objects, multimedia/digital contents etc.). Following questions will be discussed: When does a private collection (suddenly) become an archive? When do (what kind of) museums emerge? What is a digital archive and how does it transform the understanding and approach to history? Etc.
Furthermore the ethnographic approach to archives will allow for discussing the crucial role of narratives as the prime ethnographic entry point to exploring archives and archiving.
Apart from close readings of compulsory texts on anthropological approaches to archives (and the conversation between anthropology and history in general) and thematic presentations, the students will have the opportunity to conduct exploratory ethnographies of archives (city/quarter; personal/family; community; digital archive etc.).
The goal of the seminar is to deepen knowledge of anthropological approaches to history (with a focus on recent contributions and debates) and to sharpen conceptual-comparative-empirical skills.

Didactic Methods: Input Lectures, Guest lectures, Close readings/Synopsis, Thematic Presentations, Exploratory Research

Sessions (Mondays, 15-18h15)

Session I (March 5th): Intro & Building Presentation Groups
Session II (March 19th): Input & Guest Lecture
Session III (April 16th): Presentation 1 & Close Readings
Session IV (April 23d): Presentation 2 & Close Readings
Session V (May 7th): Presentation 3 & Close Readings
Session VI (May 14th): Study 1 Presentation
Session VII (June 4th): Study 2 Presentation

Assessment and permitted materials

One page written synopsis of each reading task must be delivered before the respective session. Discussion of literature in class, presentation, seminar paper.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

80 % attendance is required. If one session is missed an additional assignment must be completed; Seminar paper 30%; Written synopsis 30%; Presentation 30%
Contribution to discussion in class 10%; All tasks must be deliverd. If one is missing, the completion of the seminar is not possible.

Examination topics

Seminar contents

Reading list

will be announced in firs session

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Mo 07.09.2020 15:39