AudioVisual Anthropology

COURSE OBJECTIVE

Obtained skills after completion of the course:

1. Historical understanding of the role of sound and image in anthropology and their analytical value and limitations

2. Comprehension of the impact of positionality in the production and viewing of audiovisual projects

3. Practical skills to gather and manipulate audiovisual data

4. Basic knowledge of the practical and ethical dilemmas of ‘doing’ audiovisual ethnography

During the course students will gain understanding of the anthropological theories on and ethnographic approaches to image and sound. Students will furthermore familiarize with different genres and seminal works in audiovisual anthropology and learn to analyse and work with these various media from anthropological perspectives. Students will also acquire basic skills how to design, develop, and present ethnographic data by means of a small collective film project. In tandem, they will learn about the use and impact of these media vis-á-vis academic productions and disseminations of anthropological knowledge and learn to critically reflect on the political dimension of choices involved in anthropological audiovisual production.

COURSE CONTENT 

Image and sound are increasingly being implemented in both academic and applied research, as well as in anthropology. It is now difficult to imagine doing qualitative research without incorporating the virtual lives of our interlocutors, or, more practically, without a smartphone that captures sound and image instantly. Besides text, anthropologists now increasingly produce audiovisual media about their ethnographic findings from the field. By turning image and sound into documentaries and essay films, photo essays, or (virtual) art installations, they actively challenge the limits of academic representation. These new developments are shaping our methodologies and our ways of crafting anthropological knowledge. But audiovisual anthropology is not new. The gathering of audiovisual material and the audiovisual representation of ethnographic data have a prevailing history in anthropology.

In this course, we will explore the history and variety of audiovisual approaches in anthropology and analyse how different forms of image and sound work as tools for cultural exchange and situated understanding. In the course, we will also investigate in detail the role of positionality of film makers in the way film is being made as well as our own positionality as a viewer and a maker. Specifically, we will watch and analyse new and classical work in anthropological filmmaking and collectively produce a short film. The course therefore not only deals with anthropological theories on audiovisual representations, but also on the practical dilemmas and the ethical concerns of ‘doing’ audiovisual ethnography.

TEACHING METHODS

Interactive lectures, film viewings, practical labs, group discussions

TYPE OF ASSESSMENT 

One written assignment (individual) and one short audiovisual project (collective)