Master
2024/2025
Visual Anthropology
Type:
Elective course (Global and Regional History)
Area of studies:
History
Delivered by:
Department of History
When:
1 year, 4 module
Mode of studies:
offline
Open to:
students of all HSE University campuses
Instructors:
Данилко Елена Сергеевна
Master’s programme:
Global and Regional History
Language:
English
ECTS credits:
3
Course Syllabus
Abstract
The course introduces students to the history as well as current concepts in visual anthropology as a field of research and, in some very new instances, applied practice. What becomes of anthropology when it is practiced in media, other than the written word — such as photography or film? And what becomes of film and photography when they have anthropological pretensions? Visual anthropology enables you to explore possibilities of camera-based research. During the course, it will be important for us to understand how the work of visual anthropologists has challenged, expanded, and transformed the discipline of anthropology. And also to understand how methods and debates in visual anthropology raise important questions about authorship and cultural representation.
Learning Objectives
- Formation of an understanding of the basic concepts and notions in visual anthropology
- Development of skills in analyzing visual works (photos, films, various types of images) in the context of anthropological research
- An introduction to the history and contemporary trends of visual anthropology as a field of research and, in some new cases, applied practice.
Expected Learning Outcomes
- The ability to see the problems and aspects of modern life in their interconnectedness ("holistically"), to correlate the development trends of visual anthropology with general historical, cultural and general scientific trends in the humanitarian sphere and, more broadly, in public life
- Understanding the general importance of cultural and historical contexts and the ability to determine which contexts are especially needed to understand the local situation
- Skills in analyzing the form and content of audiovisual works (films, photographs, video content, etc.), developing the ability to “thinking visually” and apply anthropological analysis to study any aspect of social and cultural life
Course Contents
- Introduction. Visual anthropology – what is it?
- Visualizing Soviet Nationalities
- Visual Anthropology / Multimodal anthropology.
- Visual Anthropology / Sensory Ethnography
- Observation/participation cinema. Modern researches in Russia. Eva Touluse
- Observation/participation cinema. Modern researches in Russia. Alexey Vakhrushev
- Observation/participation cinema
- Indigenous cinema
- Through Navajo Eyes. To Visual Communication
- Collaborative Ethnographic Film. From Jean Rouch to modern projects
- The Camera and Men. “Cinema Verite” by Jean Rouch
- Between Science and Art. And new way of looking at the archive
- Photography and Ethnographic film (Case)
- Colonialism and Exhibited Others
Assessment Elements
- Response paper 1On any topic To prepare reading responses, you might try writing down a few points, thoughts, or questions inspired by the readings, which you also later use in your response papers. The examples of how these points can be structured: • Question: raise a question which you think is not answered by the text. Examples: what else should we know about the social and cultural situation, and why? What further interpretation or inquiry can be pursued from what we have learned so far? • Connection: does this text somehow “speak” to other texts/films in the course? Explain how the present text's/film’s argument contrasts with, confirms, clarifies, elaborates, or questions the other text's/film’s arguments or points. • Implication: what does the author's argument imply for social theory, or method? What may it imply for your own research goals, or interests? • Example: what other personal or collective experiences may exemplify (or contradict) the author’s argument? What other examples (movies, videos, fictional books, fandoms, etc) may exemplify the author’s idea? An essay is a small prose essay-reasoning on a specific topic with a free composition and the author's style of presentation. The essay includes a clear statement of the essence of the problem posed, an independent analysis of this problem using the concepts and analytical tools considered within the discipline, conclusions that summarize the author's position. Structurally, the essay consists of a title page, an introduction in which the main questions are formulated, the main part with the development of argumentation and analysis, and a general conclusion. Minimum 500, maximum 1500 words, an essay containing an analysis of one of the films offered for viewing
- Response paper 2On any topic To prepare reading responses, you might try writing down a few points, thoughts, or questions inspired by the readings, which you also later use in your response papers. The examples of how these points can be structured: • Question: raise a question which you think is not answered by the text. Examples: what else should we know about the social and cultural situation, and why? What further interpretation or inquiry can be pursued from what we have learned so far? • Connection: does this text somehow “speak” to other texts/films in the course? Explain how the present text's/film’s argument contrasts with, confirms, clarifies, elaborates, or questions the other text's/film’s arguments or points. • Implication: what does the author's argument imply for social theory, or method? What may it imply for your own research goals, or interests? • Example: what other personal or collective experiences may exemplify (or contradict) the author’s argument? What other examples (movies, videos, fictional books, fandoms, etc) may exemplify the author’s idea? An essay is a small prose essay-reasoning on a specific topic with a free composition and the author's style of presentation. The essay includes a clear statement of the essence of the problem posed, an independent analysis of this problem using the concepts and analytical tools considered within the discipline, conclusions that summarize the author's position. Structurally, the essay consists of a title page, an introduction in which the main questions are formulated, the main part with the development of argumentation and analysis, and a general conclusion.
- PresentationOn any text/film 10 minutes length, power point
- Seminar discussion contributionParticipation in the discussion on the text (film) Many readings and films in English or with English subtitles in the course are unabridged academic texts, and may present difficulty for the learners of English as a second language. We do not expect you to understand them to the word. Try to understand a portion of the text / film sufficient to be able to discuss the general content.
Interim Assessment
- 2024/2025 4th module0.1 * Presentation + 0.35 * Response paper 1 + 0.35 * Response paper 2 + 0.2 * Seminar discussion contribution
