About this course
This full-time two-week course offers a blend of theoretical insights and practical experience, inviting students to explore how visual methods can enhance ethnographic research across diverse social science disciplines. While the focus lies on the genre of ethnographic filmmaking, the course also delves into related methods, including photography, arts-based ethnography, and participatory action research.
Students will engage with the various ways visual media can represent people, behaviors, and societies, gaining foundational knowledge of the history of visual ethnography and its interdisciplinary applications. Ethical considerations and reflexivity in visual ethnographic research will also be central to the course discussions. The course structure includes readings, lectures, guest talks, and interactive working groups. Ethnographic films will be screened to inspire reflection and critical discussion, providing students with concrete examples of the genre.
On lecture-free days, participants will work on two core assignments. A group assignment: Collaboratively produce a short ethnographic film based on qualitative research. Students will gain hands-on experience in visual data collection, editing, and the ethical and reflexive dimensions of filmmaking. Please note that students need to have some basic skills in conducting in-depth interviews, observation, and/or ethnographic fieldwork. An individual assignment: Write a concise essay reflecting on the ethnographic film and its research process, engaging critically with course literature and personal insights. Both assignments allow students to choose a topic aligned with their research interests. By the end of the program, students will have acquired foundational skills in visual ethnography, enabling them to incorporate these methods into their own research activities.
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