What is Visual Anthropology | Definition, History, and Career Opportunities | Off the Shelf 5

What is visual anthropology? What do visual anthropologists do, exactly? In this episode, we'll address those questions and more... defining the field, explaining its unique history, and covering the types of careers that students in visual anthropology could have in the future. The host, Alexander K. Smith, holds an MA from Oxford University and a PhD from the University of Paris (EPHE - PSL).

For prospective students, I wholeheartedly recommend that you check out the study programs that we mentioned in the video. You can find more information on them here:

Study visual anthropology at the University of Manchester:
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/study/ma...

Study visual anthropology at the University of Amsterdam:
https://www.uva.nl/en/programmes/mast...

Additionally, I would recommend the University of Münster's excellent program, which has been very supportive of my work: https://www.uni-muenster.de/Ethnologi...

Citations:
[1] Lajard, J., and Félix-Louis Regnault. 1895. Poterie crue et origine du tour. Bulletin de la Societé d Anthropologie de Paris 6:734-739.

[2] There are a number of general overviews of the various criticisms regarding the ethnographic potential of explorer films. For particularly succinct work on the subject, see: Grimshaw, Anna. 2001. The Ethnographer’s Eye: Ways of Seeing in Modern Anthropology. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, pp. 1-32, 44-57; Ruby, Jay and Marcus Banks. 2011. “Made to Be Seen: Historical Perspectives on Visual Anthropology” in Ruby, Jay and Marcus Banks. Made to Be Seen: Perspectives on the History of Visual Anthropology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

[3] Though they are a bit dated, on Observational cinema I would recommend Colin Young’s and David MacDougall’s contributions in Principles of Visual Anthropology, pp.99-133.

For additional reading, see: Ruby, Jay and Marcus Banks (eds). 2011. Made to Be Seen: Perspectives on the History of Visual Anthropology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press; and Banks, Marcus and Howard Morphy. 1997. Rethinking Visual Anthropology. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

0:00 Introduction
0:17 Definition
1:05 History
5:35 Information for Prospective Students
6:44 Conclusion