This is a course that looks at the field of anthropology as it presents itself through film. It raises questions about anthropological knowledge and ethics by looking at how anthropologists and documentary filmmakers have depicted other cultures in film. The course will show how the images presented are part of a broader society-wide set of ideas about other cultures and what they represent. To illustrate this, we will be doing some general reading on Western conceptions of other societies, and we will be seeing some feature films and popular documentaries. The course also gives a basic introduction to the history of ethnographic film, and it focuses on a series of cases (Northwest Coast, !Kung San, Papua New Guinea) to bring out some of the changes in ethnographic film over the years. We will also be looking at some experimental films. This class carries a WAC 1 credit.
Course Requirements:
Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this course, but readings may be challenging.
Attendance: Attendance is required. To promote quality class discussion, I will be asking that you complete the assigned reading by class time. A discretionary 10% of your grade will be based on the quality of your class participation.
Reading: The assigned reading is roughly one book every two weeks. In most cases, you will be expected to read the assigned material before class to expedite class discussion. The reading load will fall to between 80 and 100 pages a week.
World Wide Web: This kind of course depends heavily on quality discussions. For the first time, I will be implementing a World Wide Web component to the course. This will give you an opportunity to contribute more of your ideas and to read the opinions of others. While Web participation is optional, your web contributions can help you in your participation grade.
Papers: You will be writing short 2-3 page papers on the films and readings throughout the term. The assignments will be announced in class. These will account for 30% of your overall grade. In addition, you will be writing ONE 6-8 page paper on a film you analyze outside of class. This paper will be worth 20%.
Remember that a good academic paper will a) advance a specific argument or thesis, b) support that argument with dataÑthe data here will be from your description of the film and from scholarly material in the assigned readings or from outside sources, and c) indicate the relevance of your argument to some broader concern or debate.
Exams: There will be a take-home midterm exam worth 20% and a take-home final exam worth 20%.
Books for Purchase:
Orientalism, Edward W. Said.
Innovation in Ethnographic Film, Peter Loizos.
The Cinema of John Marshall, Jay Ruby (ed.).
There will also be several articles handed out in class.
Other Books of Interest:
Writing Culture: The Poetics and Politics of Ethnography, James Clifford and George E. Marcus, eds. University of California Press, 1986. Already a classic collection of articles on the political, literary and aesthetic dimensions of anthropological writing.
Film As Ethnography, Peter Ian Crawford and David Turton, eds. Manchester University Press, 1992. A collection of interesting but sometimes dense articles on theoretical concerns in ethnographic film. Also discusses politics and poetics, and there is a section on TV.
Anthropological Filmmaking, Jack R. Rollwagen, ed. Harwood Academic Publishers, 1988. A collection of articles mostly by ethnographic filmmakers on collaboration and other issues in the making of ethnographic film.
Visualizing Theory, Lucien Taylor, ed. Routledge Press, 1994. A large collection of articles by theorists, filmmakers and anthropologists on theoretical issues in contemporary visual anthropology. These articles all originally appeared in the journal Visual Anthropology Review.
Ideology and Image,University of Indiana Press, 1981, and Representing Reality, University of Indiana Press, 1991. These are two books by Bill Nichols, an important theorist on documentary film and its political implications. Loizos refers to Nichols repeatedly in his book, and these books are widely recognized as standard bearers in the field of documentary film theory.
New Worlds from Fragments, Rosiland Morris, Westview Press. This is a study of Canadian ethnographic film images of the Northwest Coast Indians. It argues that ethnographic films should be studied in the historical and colonial contexts in which they were produced. It is sometimes dense reading but makes some important points.
Crossing Cultures Through Film, Ellen Summerfield, Intercultural Press, 1993. This is a practical guide for teachers and professors on relevant concerns in showing ethnographic films in the classroom. It discusses many titles.
Primitive Art in Civilized Places, Sally Price, University of Chicago Press, 1989. This is an anthropologist's treatment of the topic of "primitive art." Price explores the cultural presuppositions underlying the concept of primitive art. She uncovers the arrogance behind Western appropriations of non-Western art.
Films:
Broken Arrow (Delmar Daves, 1950, 93 min.)
Dances With Wolves (Kevin Costner, 1990, 185 min.)
The Ax Fight (Timothy Asch & Napoleon Chagnon, 1975, 30 min.)
Nanook of the North (Robert Flaherty, 1922, b&w, 55 min.)
Nanook Revisited (60 min.)
In the Land of the Head Hunters (Edward Curtis, 1914, 47 min.)
Saving the Sagas (D. S. Watson, b&w, 20 min.)
The Hunters ( John Marshall, 1958, 73 min.)
Trobriand Cricket: An Indigenous Response to Colonialism (Gary Kildea & Jerry Leach, 1975, 54 min.)
N!ai The Story of a !Kung Woman ( John Marshall & Adrienne Miesmer, 1980, 58 min.)
The Gods Must Be Crazy (Jamie Uys, 1980, 108 min.)
Lorang's Way: A Turkana Man (David MacDougall & Judith MacDougall, 1977, 70 min.)
Masai Women (C. Curling & Melissa Llewelyn-Davies, 1974, 53 min.)
First Contact (Bob Connelly & Robin Anderson, 1983, 54 min.)
Joe Leahy's Neighbors (Connelly & Anderson, 1988, 90 min.)
Black Harvest (Connelly & Anderson, 1991, 90 min.)
Lehre 
