Module ANT3013 for 2018/9
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
ANT3013: Visual Anthropology: Methods and Perspectives
This module descriptor refers to the 2018/9 academic year.
Module Aims
- To provide an overview of current perspectives and methods in visual anthropology
- To introduce you to diverse materials in anthropology of art and photography, ethnographic film and cinema studies
- To encourage a direct and sustained engagement with visual forms of communication as tools for understanding anthropological concepts
- To develop an anthropological grasp of the politics and practices of representation
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. display an understanding of the visual media and cultures; 2. develop complex arguments regarding the methodological and substantive issues associated with visual anthropology; |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 3. critically evaluate contemporary anthropological and related texts; 4. display an understanding of the disciplines approach to visual culture in relation to other approaches and explanations offered in the humanities and social sciences; 5. appreciate key issues relevant to the visual methods, and develop critical, comparative and cross-cultural insight; |
| Personal and Key Skills | 6. demonstrate transferable skills in formulating, researching and addressing focused questions; 7. prepare focused and comprehensive written presentations; 8. work independently and in collaboration with others; 9. demonstrate cross-cultural understanding, translation and comparison, which will be of advantage in many professional settings; and 10. prepare and deliver considered oral arguments. |
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
1. Vision
2. History of visual anthropology
3. Media Spheres
4. Documentary
5. Art
6. Interrogating images
7. Visual research
8. Anthropology and/as art
9. Sensory ethnography
10. Wrapping up images
Three screenings will take place as a part of this course in addition to weekly seminars.
Learning and Teaching
This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 26 | 124 | 0 |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning & Teaching | 20 | Ten 2-hour seminars, involving presentations, and group discussion. |
| Scheduled Learning & Teaching | 6 | Three 2-hour film screenings |
| Guided independent study | 20 | Preparing seminar-presentation individually and as a group |
| Guided independent study | 77 | Reading and research |
| Guided independent study | 27 | Web-based activities |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
How this Module is Assessed
In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.
Formative Assessment
A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class presentation | 10 minutes | 1-6, 8-10 | oral |
Summative Assessment
A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Photographic Essay | 30 | Including 15-25 photographic images and up to 1,500 words in captions and explanatory comments | 1-9 | Oral and written |
| Essay Reflecting on the Photographic Project | 70 | 4,000 words | 1-9 | Oral and written |
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 |
Re-assessment
Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Photographic Essay | Including 15-25 photographic images and up to 1,500 words in captions and explanatory comments | 1-9 | August/September re-assessment period |
| Essay Reflecting on the Photographic Project | 4,000 words | 1-9 | August/September re-assessment period |
Indicative Reading List
This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.
Indicative reading list:
This is a list of some useful readings for this module that offer important background. Please feel free to select the texts that interest you, or find explanations of concepts, ideas and history of the discipline when you are preparing your presentations or writing essays.
Banks, M. and Morphy, H. E. (eds.), Rethinking visual anthropology. New Haven; London: Yale University Press
Banks. M. and Ruby, J. (eds.) 2011. Made to be seen: Perspectives on the History of Visual Anthropology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Freedberg, D. 1989. The power of images: studies in the history and theory of response. Chicago, Ill.; London: University of Chicago Press.
Evans, J. and Hall, S. (eds). 1999. Visual Culture: the Reader. Open University.
Gaines, J. M. and Renov, M. E. 1999. Collecting visible evidence. Minneapolis; London: University of Minnesota Press.
Gray, G. 2010. Cinema: a visual anthropology (Vol. 1). Oxford: Berg.
Grimshaw, A. 2001. The Ethnographer's Eye: Ways of Seeing in Anthropology. Cambridge: University of Cambridge Press.
Heider, K. G. 2006 (1976). Ethnographic Film. Austin: University of Texas Press.
Mirzoeff, N. (ed.) 1988. The Visual Culture Reader. London: Routledge.
Mitchell, W. J. T. 1986. Iconology: image, text, ideology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Pink, S. 2001. Doing visual ethnography: images, media and representation in research. London: SAGE.
Pinney, C. 2011. Photography and anthropology. Reaktion.
Poole, D. 1997. Vision, race, and modernity: a visual economy of the Andean image world. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.
