Ethnographic Film

Catalog description

Comparisons of written and visual ethnography; critical assessment of ethnographic film; cross-cultural variation. ANTH 445W Ethnographic Film (3) Students will be presented with both written and filmed ethnographic material dealing with a number of cultural subsystems (e.g., kinship and family relations, religion, political systems) and with a number of different world cultures. The aim of the course is three-fold: 1) to convey through visual anthropology the complexity and inter-relations of cultural subsystems, which is often difficult to do in written sources; 2) to develop the skills of critical viewing of ethnographic film; and 3) to provide students with critiques of their written work that will enable them to learn and practice the skills of clear, organized and convincing writing. Towards these ends, students will be expected to read and view weekly assignments for selected topics, to write twelve critical essays that compare the written and filmed sources, and to evaluate the aims, effectiveness, and methods of the films. Essays will be graded for both content and form and will provide a basis for class discussion. Students will also be required to write a term paper focused on a particular ethnographic film of their choice (one not shown in class) supplemented by additional research. As an aid in the writing of the paper, at least one class period will be devoted to learning how to do library research in Anthropology. This course will complement other courses in Anthropology such as ANTH 045 and ANTH 001. The course can be used to fulfill a requirement in both the major and minor in Anthropology and will fulfill both a Writing Intensive requirement and a Bachelor of Arts social/behavioral science requirement. It will also provide students in other departments with the opportunity to study aspects of diverse, non-western cultures.