SOA-1010 Film, interpretation and anthropological understanding - 10 stp

The course is a compulsory subject in the Bachelor's program in Social Anthropology. It is also well-suited as an elective for social sciences and humanities.

The course can be taken as a single/standalone course.

In this course, we explore how to move from concrete ethnographic observations to the interpretation of events and the production of anthropological knowledge.

Ethnographic fieldwork is one of anthropology’s most important methods. The use of video opens up new possibilities for analysing behaviour in ways that can challenge and nuance the anthropological ideal of participant observation.

The course aims to critically examine and systematize the process of discovery in social anthropological research by using video recordings and excerpts from films as a starting point. Images represent actions in a concrete and direct way to the viewer. Studying filmed sequences of events offers opportunities to develop new understandings of social situations.

The use of film and video in this manner has proven valuable for studies of human interaction, the understanding of emotional expressions and embodied knowledge, and has also led to breakthroughs in understanding how animals communicate.

General university admission qualifications or recognition of prior learning (realkompetanse).

Application code 9199 – Single courses at the undergraduate level.

After completing and passing the course, students will have achieved the following learning outcomes:

Knowledge and Understanding:
The student will:

• Be familiar with the various steps and processes of discovery in the production of anthropological knowledge.
• Have knowledge of how audiovisual tools can be used to develop anthropological understanding.

Skills:
The student will:

• Be able to reflect on, critically engage with, and interpret video as ethnographic material within the anthropological tradition.

Competence:
The student will:

• Be able to apply anthropological interpretive skills to understand social situations.

English

Assignments and Exam may be submitted in a Scandinavian language