Weekly
Schedule Fall Quarter 2009
All
required readings and assignments are listed and linked below;
links to supplementary
materials can be found on the resources
page. Note: if, during the course of the first week or two, it becomes
clear that students are not keeping up with the readings, I will be forced
to institute chapter/reading tests at the beginning of each class. Please
heed this warning, because I would like to run this class as a seminar--an
impossible task if few read assigned work. That said, the schedule is
also subject to change to accommodate questions or interests that arise
as a result of class discussion, and from the emerging impact of new media
on the practice of visual anthropology.
Because
students are being asked to produce a portfolio-quality body of work in
this class, the focus before midterm will be on theory and methodology;
after that the focus shifts to research, process, and project development,
with exemplary films and other visual works for inspiration. Some class
time may be used for field work, but students must make arrangements in
writing, in advance, with detailed explanations of the work being undertaken.
|
| Week |
Topic |
Assignment (complete readings for each week before class meets)) |
| 1 |
Introduction to the principles
of anthropology and ethnography
Faces
of Culture: “The Nature of Anthropology,” “The
Nature of Culture,” and “How Cultures are Studied.”
(transcripts are available here) |
Exercise
1: Self-Analysis |
| 2 |
The history of ethnographic film
Film: Robert Flaherty,
Nanook of the North (1922)
Footage from DVD extras |
Reading: Robert J. Flaherty, F.R.G.S. “How
I Filmed Nanook of the North:
Adventures
with the Eskimos to Get Pictures of Their Home Life and Their Battles
with Nature to Get Food. The Walrus Fight.” (1922); Deane Williams,
“Robert
Flaherty.”
Dean Duncan's essay for the Criterion edition of the film
Exercise
2: Ethnographic Analogy (due
no later than week 5) |
| 3 |
Conducting
research in anthropology; project development workshop
Video:
Michael Wesch,
An Anthropological
Introduction to YouTube (2008)
Library
of Congress article on this video |
Readings: Marcus Banks, “Visual
research methods”; Kevin Anderson, “Ethnographic
Hypermedia: Transcending Thick Descriptions”; Jay
Ruby, "Seeing
Through Pictures: The Anthropology of Photography." |
| 4 |
The work
of anthropology: interpreting cultural phenomena
Film: John Marshall, The
Hunters
Other forms of visual anthropology: an exploration
Bushmen:
Last Stand for Africa's First People (National Geographic) |
Project
proposal due.
Reading: John Bishop, “Life
By Myth: The Development of Ethnographic Filmmaking in the Work
of John Marshall” (2001)
|
| 5 |
Ethnographic
film and popular cultureFilm: John Marshall, N!ai:
The Story
of a !Kung Woman;
Clip from The Gods Must
Be Crazy |
Wikipedia's
article on The
Gods Must Be Crazy
DER
study guide to N!ai.
Optional workbook check;
Exercise 3 (due week 7) |
| 6 |
Art and
ethnography: film, photography, and other visual media as expressions
of visual communication
Film: Robert Gardner, Rivers
of Sand (1975); clips
available on Gardner's website.
Presentation:
Ethnographic Illustration and the Visual Arts |
Reading: Jay Ruby, “The
Death of Ethnographic Film”; Jay Ruby, “An
Anthropological Critique of the Films of Robert Gardner”
BBC's
Tribe page on the Hamar
Exercise
3 (due week 7) |
| 7 |
Re-visioning
the ethnographic film
Film: Robert Gardner, Forest
of Bliss (1985); clips
available on Gardner's website. |
A
Conversation Between Robert Gardner and Akos Oka on Forest of
Bliss
|
| 8 |
Thanksgiving
holiday |
Class
does not meet |
| 9 |
Project finalization workshop |
Project
outlines, rough footage, storyboards, contact sheets, etc. should
be brought to class for input and feedback. All projects must be ready for final editing and presentation
development (for photographic portfolios); websites must be online
and ready for instructor input. Workbook check. |
| 10 |
Exhibition of student projects: photography and still
media |
Graduating
students: completed final projects due. |
| 11 |
Exhibition of student projects: film and motion graphics |
Final
class meeting |
 |
|
|
|
