Introduction to Visual Anthropology
Anthropology 195/295
Instructor: R. Bruce Broce
Summer 1999, Summer 2000
Bruce motivates his students!
Course Description
This course provides an introduction to current anthropological theories of visual communication and to contemporary methods of critiquing, producing, and displaying visual representations of cultural phenomena.
Seminar style discussions in the morning will critically explore a wide range of concepts and issues salient to the field of visual anthropology. As such, each morning seminar will analyze both the written texts and the films/videos currently centered in the discourse of visual anthropology. Hands-on practicums in the afternoon will involve applying these critical perspectives to the production and editing of our own video footage of cultural activities in the Burlington area.
There will be on average two articles/chapters per class of required reading. Students are expected to come to the seminars having done the reading in order to facilitate an arena of critical discussion. There will be at least one film/video screened per class. Students will be required to keep a log on each of these films/videos. Each log entry should detail the film's style, content, and intent. This will be done in order to hone a critical perspective towards the viewing of visual texts. In addition to submitting their logs at the end of the course, students will write a four page essay which addresses a contemporary issue in visual anthropology.
From the onset of the course, students will begin developing their video skills, specifically geared toward the production of anthropologically informed visual texts. Students will document a community practice/tradition using videocameras and sound equipment. Towards the end of the course, students will begin the editing process. On the last day of the course, we will hold a forum where students' final project will be screened.
Course Film Screening List and Accompanying Articles