Visual Anthropology (at last)

[Mark]

Please! I beg you! Keep this group in focus with input from both
professionals, students, and people interested in visual anthropology
as a whole. Definitions?...let's take the
fish-eye-lens-definition...the study of visual culture. Simple!

My first question(s) to pose to a prospective group would be - What
are your thoughts on the revisionist changes in anthropology as a
whole since the 60's (or maybe before then) - have they forced the
centre of anthropology into some kind of philisophical debate on
agenda? Where would visual anthropology fit into this?

Does anthropology have a hard enough time to justify it's existence
when it is out of the spotlight of being "applied". What happens to
anthropological writings or data? Does it stay within the confines of
an academic (someone once said "alienating") discourse? If so, what
does this mean for visual anthropology?

Do ethngraphic film-makers think under the "cool shade" of television
when they film? Do you think that there is an effort for viz anth to
try and gel with current media trends...to try and spread the
knowledge that the subject has acquired in a more accessible way to
the public (not to say that we are not the public of course!!!)? If
there is an effort to try and form links to mainstream media should
ethnographic filmmakers (for instance) review their filming styles -
(is observational cinema the best option when screening to mass
audiences?)

Why should the Ethnographic Museum in Barcelona display Japenese food
packaging in an exhibit?

Would you reckon visual anthropology as being linked to Museum
ethnography? And (as the Centipede asked Alice)...WHY?

Of course we don't need to answer all of these questions (they may be
bad ones) and by no means are some of the above statements my own
personal approaches- my point is that a news group on visual
anthropology would be great. Let's get things going!

Anything on visual anthropology is valued here - any subject, from -
Museum ethnography, to ethnographic film, to indigenous art (including
body painting), to multi-media (my personal favourite) and anything
else that may crop up.

It does not matter if you are published or not, a student or not! It
is easy to shy away from newsgroups for fear of looking stupid - don't
be shy (we can all learn something from it!) . This newsgroup will (I
hope) offer vibrant discussion, and respect people who are developing
interests in visual anthropology, after all - it is all about
learning!

Anthropology is fortunate enough to be an academic discipline, but
has the added appeal to people who did not go to university to study
it. I'm hoping that we can tap into this more (kind of in the spirit
of the small-triple-A ((amatuer anthropological association))(((I
think))).

Let's see...

Best wishes

Mark

[nicole....@gmail.com]

Hi Mark,

Came across this thread are you still participating in a visual anthropology group on google groups? If so I am interested in joining. Please let me know, thank you. I am a graduate student at USC studying Visual Anthropology.

Best,
nicole