Thomas John, M.A.

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SoSe 2013 Seminar Visuelle Anthropologie (088771), 14-täglich, 15.04.-15.07.13, Raum STU 104

Visual Anthropology consists of two major related but in the same time very different path-ways:
1.) The actual practice of VA is anthropological filmmaking. That is to combine fieldwork and filmmaking in order to produce an audio-visual representation of one's fieldwork. The range of approaches is divers. There are conventional ethnographic documentary films, from an explanative and didactic format, to a rather observational style, up to more interactive and conversational forms of filmmaking. Sometimes these films have creative and interesting narrative structures, and are very aesthetic and cinematographic. However, there are also many especially older films, which are rather driven by the objective to plainly document and salvage “culture(s)” or which use the camera as a pure research tool, without the aim of doing a good film and having an distinctive cinemato-graphic language. Moreover, there are also ethno-fiction films, (such as by Jean Rouch) auto-ethnographic films, collaborative undertakings and also very artistic films that are located between anthropology and art, but which are not considered as 'anthropology' by many anthropologists.

In this VA seminar we are not going to produce own films, but we follow the 2.) path-way:
We deal critically and analytically with the above stated formats of VA. Theoretical concern will be the history, debates, practices and methods of VA. Films will be reviewed and analyzed, and the theoretic body of literature concerned with VA will be treated. We will watch classics but also contemporary documentaries, from To live with Herds in East Africa up to Balkan Beats Berlin.
The second path-way is the critical reflection on the first. We will deal with issues of representation of cultural minorities and “others” in anthropological cinema. The latter has been criticized by postmodern critiques (e.g. Trinh T. Minh-ha) as partial, authoritative, unethic and western exotizations of non-western ethnic groups or western cultural minorities. In this context will be also dealt from a media anthropologists' standpoint with fiction and documentary film produced by the very “other”, such as “indigenous” and “third world” filmmaking. Additionally collaborative undertakings get elaborated, that is when anthropological filmmakers worked together with local filmmakers of their field, or initiated local film-projects, e.g. the classic Through Navajo Eyes 1972. While going through the history of anthropological film we deal also with broader film-theory, narrative structures of documentary film and their impact on VA and our own potential VA practice. 
 
The aim of the course is to help students to reflect visual anthropological practices critically and be aware of past and current issues of debates that have been raised through the experiments of VA. Additionally, the seminar shall support students and enhance their ability to make use of visual anthropological knowledge for own potential audio-visual ethnographic fieldwork and filmmaking. 

Note:
- For those who are motivated there will be the option to take part in an extra (not mandatory) workshop possibly over a weekend to experiment a bit of own filmmaking and editing. 
- All participants should contact thomasj@gmx.net at least two weeks before the first session to receive a mandatory reading as PDF and the download-link for a film to be prepared for the first meeting. Please do not forget about that!

Some selected related literatures are:
Minh-ha, Trinh T. (1993): 'The Totalizing Quest of Meaning', in: Michael Renov (ed.) Theorizing Documentary, New York/London: Routledge, pp. 90-107.
Ruby, Jay. (1991): 'Speaking For, Speaking About, Speaking With, or Speaking Alongside – An Anthropolo- gical and Documentary Dilemma', in: Visual Anthropology Review Fall 1991 Volume 7 Number 2.
Marks, Laura (2000): The Skin of the Film. Intercultural Cinema, Embodiment and the Senses. Durham, Duke University Press.
MacDougall, David (1998): 'Transcultural Cinema', in: ibid. (ed.), Transcultural Cinema, Princeton/New Jersey: Princeton University Press, pp. 245-278.
MacDougall, David [1974] (2003). 'Beyond Observational Cinema', in: Principles of Visual Anthropology, Paul Hockings (ed.) Berlin & New York: Mouton de Gruyter, pp. 115-132.
Wood, Houston (2008): Native Features. Indigenous Films from Around the World. New York: Continuum.