Undergraduate - UnitATS2373 - Visualising cultures: Film and ethnography

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2015 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Level	Undergraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Arts
Organisational Unit	Anthropology
Offered	Not offered in 2015
Coordinator(s)	TBA

Synopsis

This unit explores the relation between film and ethnography by examining how cultures are 'visualised' - documented and represented on celluloid, usually in productions that are aimed at an educational audience rather than one that seeks pure entertainment. The ethical responsibilities of the filmmaker, the political dimension of filmic representation and the practical problems of recording another culture without 'exoticising' it will be studied. The unit also explores the issue of when visual representation can be more (or less) effective than textual discussions.

Outcomes

Students in this subject can expect to:

Become familiar with a range of ethnographic films.
Further their understanding of issues involved in the politics of representation.
Situate ethnographic film in relation to both a written tradition of ethnography and other filmed products.
Develop their capacity to apply theories 'visually' as well as 'textually'.
Improve written and oral skills in presenting, discussing and evaluating ideas and issues in anthropology by studying particular films in some detail.

Assessment

Within semester assessment: 80%
Exam: 20%

Workload requirements

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. A unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

Chief examiner(s)

TBA

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study

Indigenous cultures and histories

Prerequisites

Twelve credit points of first-year Arts units. It is highly recommended that students only take this unit after they have completed two gateway units in Anthropology.

Prohibitions

COS2170 and ATS3373