VISUAL ANTHROPOLOGY - 54.317


Instructor: Brian J. Given
Telephone: 520-2600 ext. 3571
Office: B745 Loeb
Email: brian-given@home.com
Office Hours: Tues.  3:00 - 5:00


2001/2002 Fall Term, films, lectures and discussion: Tuesdays 11:30-2:30 at Loeb A-720

N.B: This course outline lives on my Web site (www.carleton.ca/~bgiven/54_317.htm). If you are reading this in hardcopy please note that some of the underlined passages are active links which will lead the Web user to further information.

PLEASE CHECK THE COURSE NEWSGROUP WEEKLY FOR ANNOUNCEMENTS AND DISCUSSION

In part, this is an ethnographic film course, tracing the development of this important anthropological medium from its earliest roots to the present.   Visual anthropology is by no means limited the ethnographic film but rather includes the study of the full range of media and the relationship between media and culture. We will pay attention to still photography, advertising, propaganda and issues of visual discourse and the Internet environment, for example.  The course is also, to some extent, about central methodological and theoretical issues in anthropology.

Student Assignments and Evaluation
1. Each student is asked to prepare a written paper or a multimedia project. This assignment is weighted at 50% of the course grade. Please note that students' multimedia projects usually are not self-explanatory at the level of anthropological theory so they usually require an explanation  in the form of a short essay which places your work in the context of the course materials.

2. There will be two take-home examinations with answers not to exceed 1200 words or about five double-spaced typed pages. (Please note that examinations which exceed this limit will be returned unread). The exams are each weighted at 25% of the course grade for a total of 50%.

3. Please note: the assignment of final grades is always subject to the Dean's approval. The Dean has the power to change grades.

Test and assignment dates

Please note that the time to begin work on your paper or project is now. You must meet your assignment deadline. It will be much easier to discuss your work with me early in the term than to wait until many other students need to see me.  Please feel free to visit me in my office to discuss your work!

1. The first take-home exam will be handed out October 9 and is due no later than October 16.

2. The second take-home exam will be handed out November 27 and is due on the last day of the formal examination period, December 22.  Please note that the final take-home exam may be handed in anytime prior to Dec. 22, but not after that date.

2. The term paper or approved  project is due November 28.

Handing in Assignments

Please note: written assignments should be handed to me in class or placed in the "essay drop slot" outside the Department of Sociology and Anthropology main office, B-742, 7th floor Loeb bldg. Please do not shove them under my door. No written assignment will be accepted unless the student retains a photocopy of that assignment. Do not hand in your only copy please!

A Note About Plagiarism and Duplicate Assignments

I shouldn't have to include the following passage. I do know that most of my students have far too much self-respect to cheat, but it is possible to plagiarize without intending to cheat - please read the following carefully. Your essays and assignments must be your work, informed by the work of other scholars, whom we cite in order to give them credit for their contributions. We often summarize the work of others but we are careful to cite them properly so that we do not appear to be claiming their work as our own. Whenever you use somebody else's ideas or data please take care to cite them properly - to fail to do so leaves you open to charges of plagiarism. Similarly, any collaboration with other students on assignments should be cleared with the instructor in advance. Where apparently duplicate papers are submitted, both parties are vulnerable to charges of plagiarism. If you aren't sure, please check with me! Check the department of Sociology and Anthropology style guide for instructions for appropriate citation of the work of others.

Students With Special Needs
Students with disabilities requiring academic accommodations are encouraged to contact a coordinator at the Paul Menton Center to complete the necessary letters of accommodation. then, make an appointment to come and discuss your needs with me at least two weeks prior to the first in-class or ITV test. This is to ensure sufficient time to make the necessary accommodation arrangement. Please note the following deadlines for submitting completed forms to the Paul Menton Center: November 3rd for Fall term courses, and March 9th for Winter term courses. Please come and talk to me as well so that we can decide how to best address your needs.

Note re. Admission to Departmental Degree Program
Please note that a grade of C- or better in 53.100, 54.100 or 56.100 is required for admission to the degree program in Sociology and Anthropology.

Review Week Schedule

I will be available during my office hours during review week. Students with questions should see me then. If I am not there, I will get back to you if you email me.

Required Reading

Ruby, Jay, Picturing Culture : Explorations of Film and Anthropology, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, (August) 2000.

Suggested Reading

For the reading list  follow this link or get a hardcopy from me.

I am always happy to receive suggestions from my students or other visitors to this site. If you want to bring an article or book in the field of visual anthropology or an interesting film to my attention, please email me.

- Additional readings may be announced from time to time. The articles will be made available through library reserve where students may read or photocopy them. Photocopying all of these articles should cost about $10.00 for the term.

- I expect all students to do a considerable amount of reading as part of the preparation of your term paper or project. Students are expected to search the library, the machine-readable databases such as Anthropological Literature and SocioFile and the many anthropological journals in the library. Good starting points are:

Visual Anthropology, GN347.A1V54, 4th floor Library
Visual Anthropology Review, GN347.A1V57, 4th floor Library
Visual Anthropology Review has a Web site at http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/VAR/index2.html
You might want to check out the visual anth. links on my Web site too.

I am  organizing library and computer workshops for this class. I will announce the date when it is confirmed.

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