Dr. Maximilian C. Forte
Visual Anthropology
Please download a paper copy of the syllabus in PDF format, for all course details and policies. What follows below is only the schedule of classes and readings.
All readings are contained within the COURSE READER available in the bookstore.
Lecture outlines, in PDF format, will appear beneath each lecture title below, usually on the day of the lecture itself.
SCHEDULE of CLASSES and READINGS
PART ONE: PHOTOGRAPHY
1. Introducing Visual Anthropology &
Colonialism and Exhibited Others: Difference as Spectacle and Science
Weds., 03 January
Overview of course, requirements, introductory notes
Lecture outline (PDF)Ruby, Jay. 1996. “Visual Anthropology.” In Encyclopedia of Cultural Anthropology, David Levinson and Melvin Ember, editors. New York: Henry Holt and Company, vol. 4: 1345-1351.
2. Colonialism and Exhibited Others, cont’d: Difference as Spectacle and Science
Weds., 10 JanuaryLecture outline (PDF)
Ch. 2, “Science and Spectacle: Visualizing the Other at the World’s Fair,” pp. 46-85 [From: Griffiths, Alison. 2002. Wondrous Difference: Cinema, Anthropology, and Turn-of-the-Century Visual Culture. New York : Columbia University Press.]
Corbey, Raymond. 1993. “Ethnographic Showcases, 1870-1930.” Cultural Anthropology, Vol. 8, No. 3: 338-369.
Film: The Life and Times of Sara Baartman: The Hottentot Venus (53 mins.)—Yola Masenko, 1998: the story of a Khoi Khoi woman who was taken from South Africa, at the age of 20 in 1810, then exhibited across Britain as a freak. She was taken to France in 1814, where she became the object of scientific and medical research that formed the basis for European ideas about black female sexuality. The documentary film uses historical drawings, cartoons, legal documents and interviews with cultural historians and anthropologists to tell the story.
3. Early Ethnographic Photography: Contexts and Trends
Weds., 17 JanuaryLecture outline (PDF)
Brian Street, “British Popular Anthropology: Exhibiting and Photographing the Other”, 122-131 [From: Edwards, Elizabeth, ed. 1992. Anthropology and Photography, 1860-1920. New Haven: Yale University Press.]
Williams, Carol. 1999. “Photographic Portraiture of Aboriginal Women on Canada’s Northwest Coast Circa 1862-1880.”
Film: In the Land of the War Canoes: Kwakiutl Indian Life on the Northwest Coast (47 mins.)—Edward S. Curtis 1914 (1972): Made in 1914. Restored by Bill Holm, George Quimby and David Gerth in 1972. Originally entitled: In the land of the headhunters. A dramatic presentation of Kwakiutl Indian life on the northwest coast of America, shot in 1914 on Vancouver Island.
DNE Deadline for withdrawal with tuition refund from Winter courses
4. Ethnographic Photography: Conventions and Methodologies
Weds., 24 JanuaryLecture outline (PDF)
Im Thurn, E. F. 1893. “Anthropological Uses of the Camera.” The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 22: 184-203.
Damon, Frederick H. 2000. “ ‘To Restore the Events?:’ On the Ethnography of Malinowski's Photography.” Visual Anthropology Review, Mar., Vol. 16, No. 1: 71-77.
Lakoff, Andrew. 1996. “Freezing Time: Margaret Meads's Diagnostic Photography.” Visual Anthropology Review, Mar., Vol. 12, No. 1: 1-18.
5. Paradigms and Debates: Photography in Ethnography
Weds., 31 JanuaryThe mid-term exam covers the period up to and including this week. See the assignments page for a copy of the mid-term exam, in PDF format.
Margaret Mead, “Visual Anthropology in a Discipline of Words,” pp. 3-10 [From: Hockings, Paul, ed. 1995. Principles of Visual Anthropology. New York: Mouton de Gruyter.]
Mead, Margaret, and Gregory Bateson. 1977. “On the Use of the Camera in Anthropology.” Studies in the Anthropology of Visual Communication, Dec., Vol. 4, No. 2: 78-80.
Ch. 1, “Reading Pictures,” pp. 1-12 [From: Banks, Marcus. 2001. Visual Methods in Social Research. London: Sage.]
6. Indigenous Uses of Photography
Weds., 07 FebruaryLecture outline (PDF)
Prins, Harald E.L., and Bishop, John. 2001-2002. “Edmund Carpenter: Explorations in Media and Anthropology.” Visual Anthropology Review, Vol. 17., No. 2: 110-140.
MacDougall, David. 1992. “ ‘Photo wallahs:’ An Encounter with Photography.” Visual Anthropology Review, Sep., Vol. 8, No. 2: 96-100.
Sprague, Stephen. 1978. “How I See the Yoruba See Themselves.” Studies in the Anthropology of Visual Communication, Sep., Vol. 5, No. 1: 9-29.
Buckley, Liam. 2000. “Self and Accessory in Gambian Studio Photography.” Visual Anthropology Review, Sep., Vol. 16, No. 2: 71-91.
[WEB] Buckely, Liam. 2000. “Gambian Studio Photography.” from VAR 16.2, pp 71-91: http://etext.virginia.edu/VAR/gambia/photo.html
Film: Photo Wallahs (60 mins.)—David & Judith MacDougall, 1991: The film focuses on the photographers of Mussoorie, a hill station in the Himalayan foothills of northern India whose fame has attracted tourists since the 19th century. Through a rich mixture of scenes that includes the photographers at work, their clients, and both old and new photographs, this film examines photography as art and as social artifact.
Film: Oh! What a Blow that Phantom Gave Me (52 mins.)—John Bishop and Harald Prins, 2003: This film takes its title from a book written by filmmaker Edmund Carpenter in 1972 about his engagement with media in Papua, New Guinea. In the film, several filmmakers discuss the introduction of media, and film in particular, to native cultures. Media has the ability to help native peoples document their own cultures, but it also has the power to encroach upon those cultures and irreversibly alter them. This film relates the ways in which native peoples engage with media, from the Biami who proudly developed the "Big Wink" to learn how to properly focus a camera, to the Kandagan people who changed the rules of a thousand year old male initiation ceremony to allow a woman camera operator to document the ceremony. At issue is the way in which media "swallows cultures" and the benefits and dangers of introducing preliterate societies to Western modes of communication and expression.
PART TWO: FILM
7. History of Ethnographic Film
Weds., 14 FebruaryLecture outline (PDF)
Handout from class (PDF)
Griffiths, Alison. 1996. “Knowledge and Visuality in Turn-of-the-century Anthropology: The Early Ethnographic Cinema of Alfred Cort Haddon and Walter Baldwin Spencer.” Visual Anthropology Review, Sep., Vol. 12, No. 2: 18-43
Film: The Hunters (72 mins.)—John Marshall, 1957: an early classic in anthropological film follows the hunt of a giraffe by four men over a five-day period. The film was shot in 1952-53 on the third joint Smithsonian-Harvard Peabody sponsored Marshall family expedition to Africa to study Ju/'hoansi, one of the few surviving groups that lived by hunting - gathering. John Marshall was a young man when he made this, his first feature length film
Optional Film: Dead Birds (84 mins.)—Robert Gardner, 1964: A cinematographic interpretation of the life of a group of Grand Valley Dani, who are mountain Papuans in West New Guinea (Irian Barat, Indonesia), studied by the Harvard-Peabody Expedition (1961-1963). This film was made by Gardner in 1961, before the area was pacified by the Dutch government. The film focuses on Weyak, the farmer and warrior, and on Pua, the young swineherd, following them through the events of Dani life: sweet potato horticulture, pig keeping, salt winning, battles, raids, and ceremonies.
No class on Weds., 21 February (Winter break)
8. What is Ethnographic Film?
Weds., 28 FebruaryLecture outline (PDF)
Ch. 7, Marcus Banks, “Which films are the ethnographic films?” pp. 116-130 [From: Crawford, Peter Ian, and Turton, David, eds. 1992. Film as Ethnography. Manchester: Manchester University Press.]
Ruby, Jay. 1975. “Is an Ethnographic Film a Filmic Ethnography?” Studies in the Anthropology of Visual Communication, Sep., Vol. 2, No. 2: 104-111.
David MacDougall, “Beyond Observational Cinema,” pp. 115-132 [From: Hockings, Paul, ed. 1995. Principles of Visual Anthropology. New York: Mouton de Gruyter.]
Ch. 1, “Innovation in Ethnographic Film, 1955-85,” pp. 5-15 [From: Loizos, Peter. 1993. Innovation in Ethnographic film: From Innocence to Self-Consciousness, 1955-85. Chicago : University of Chicago Press.]
9. Case Studies in Ethnographic Film: Robert J. Flaherty and Nanook of the North
Weds., 07 MarchFor this class, please make sure that you have done the readings to coincide with the film viewings. Please follow the reading guide. In addition, please consult the film study sheet to be found on the same page as the reading guide (see the menu above). We will be watching both of the films below for this week's session.
Flaherty, Robert J. 1922. “How I Filmed ‘Nanook of the North'.” World's Work, October: 632-640.
Ch. 3, “The Innocent Eye: Flaherty, Malinowski and the Romantic Quest,” pp. 45-56 [From: Grimshaw, Anna. 2001. The Ethnographer’s Eye: Ways of Seeing in Anthropology. New York: Cambridge University Press.]
Hockings, Paul. 2001-2002. “Asen Balicki Films Nanook.” Visual Anthropology Review, Vol. 17, No. 2: 71-80.
Film: Nanook of the North (69 mins.)—Robert J. Flaherty, 1922: Presents a documentary of the saga of an Eskimo family pitting their strength against a vast and inhospitable Arctic. Juxtaposes their struggle for survival against the elements with the warmth of the little family as they go about their daily affairs.
Optional Film: Nanook Revisited (55 mins.)—Claude Massot, 2004: The filmmakers revisit Inukjuak, the Inuit village where Flaherty filmed Nanook of the North. Examines the realities behind the ground-breaking documentary and the changes since it was made almost 70 years ago. Shows the reactions of the Inuit living in the village, to the film, and also looks at the inaccuracies and staged scenes in the original.
10. Case Studies in Ethnographic Film: Jean Rouch, Part I
Weds., 14 MarchReadings assigned for this week will be discussed during session #11. Today's session is focused entirely on viewing the two films below, with some initial reactions to be discussed.
Edgar Morin, “Chronicle of a Film,” pp. 229-265 [From: Feld, Steven, ed. 2003. Ciné-ethnography; Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.]
Note: as you can see from the duration of the films indicated below, class time for this session will be devoted to watching the films, with most of the review and discussion left for the following session.
Film: Les Maîtres Fous (The Mad Masters)(29 mins.)—Jean Rouch, 1954: This film documents the annual ceremony of the Hauku cult, a religious movement which was widespread in Niger and Ghana from the 1920’s to the 1950’s.
Film: Chronique d’un été (Chronicle of a Summer) (85 mins.)—Jean Rouch and Edgar Morin, 1961: In the summer of 1960 a documentary film crew asks the people on the streets of Paris if they are happy.
Last day for academic withdrawal from two-term and winter-term courses
11. Case Studies in Ethnographic Film: Jean Rouch, Part II
Weds., 21 March
Jean Rouch, “The Camera and Man,” pp. 29-46 [From: Rouch, Jean. 2003. Ciné-ethnography. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.]
Taylor, Lucien. 1991. “A Conversation with Jean Rouch.” Visual Anthropology Review, Mar., Vol. 7, No. 1: 92-102.
12. Case Studies in Ethnographic Film: Robert Gardner, Forest of Bliss, and One Big Ugly Debate
Weds., 28 MarchSupplementary Presentation (PDF, 2.2 Mb)
Supplementary Presentation (HTML, 2.3 Mb)
Moore, Alexander. 1988. “The Limitations of Imagist Documentary: A Review of Robert Gardner's ‘Forest of Bliss’.” Society for Visual Anthropology Newsletter, Sep., Vol. 4, No. 2: 1-3.
Chopra, Radhika. 1989. “Robert Gardner's Forest of Bliss: A Review.” Society for Visual Anthropology Newsletter, Mar., Vol. 5, No. 1: 2-3.
Kirkpatrick, Joanna. 1989. Review of “Forest of Bliss.” American Anthropologist, Mar., Vol. 91, No. 1: 273-274.
Ostor, Akos. 1989. “Is That What Forest of Bliss is All About?: A Response.” Society for Visual Anthropology Newsletter, Mar., Vol. 5, No. 1: 4-8.
MacDougall, David. 2001. “Review Article: Gifts of Circumstance.” Visual Anthropology Review, Vol. 17, No. 1: 68-85.
Chiozzi, Paolo. 1990. “What is Ethnographic Film? Remarks About a Debate.” Society for Visual Anthropology Review, Mar., Vol. 6, No. 1: 26-28.
Film: Forest of Bliss (90 mins.)—Robert Gardner, Ákos Östör, 1978: A documentary on the Holy City of Benares, India, its daily customs and religious rituals.
13. CONCLUSION: New trends in ethnographic film
Weds., 04 AprilFinal exam question(s) distributed in class today
No readings. When viewing the film below, think of the ways it differs most critically with some of the early ethnographic films we have seen in this course. You might consider reviewing your notes and handout on the history of ethnographic film.
Film: Incidents of Travel in Chichén Itzá (90 mins.)—Jeffrey Himpele, Quetzil Castañeda, 1997: This ethnographic video depicts how New Agers, the Mexican state, tourists, and 1920s archaeologists all contend to "clear" the site of the antique Maya city of Chichén Itzà in order to produce their own idealized and unobstructed visions of "Maya" while the local Maya themselves struggle to occupy the site as vendors and artisans. The setting is the spring Equinox when a shadow said to represent the Maya serpent-god Kukulkan appears on one temple pyramid. As more than 40,000 New Age spiritualists and secular tourists from the United States and Mexico converge to witness this solar phenomenon, the video depicts the surrounding social event as a complicated entanglement of expected dualisms concerning tourism. Going beyond previous films that reduce tourism to neo-colonial and exoticizing social relations, this video portrays a Maya cultural site where US New Agers -- rather than local Mayas -- appear as exotic ritualists who are on display for other secular tourists and for local Mayas. While the video does examine representations of Mayas by visiting New Agers as part of globalizing discourses on the exotic and evolution, it also shows how during the ongoing economic crisis resident Mayas struggle against the Mexican state -- rather than against tourists -- that regularly "sweeps" them from the tourist zone in order to anchor the nation in an image of pure antiquity. This video also asks what kind of fieldwork is possible at such a spectacle and it questions the status of ethnographic authority as people from the various groups converging on the event, including the anthropologist-videomakers, ironically trade positions as well as compete to speak about the Maya.
