NANCY MARIE MITHLO

Current musings on the dilemma of contemporary Native American arts scholarship

Anthropology 249:
Visual Anthropology
Smith College, Fall 2006
Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:30 - 11:50, Seelye 101

Nancy Marie Mithlo, Assistant Professor of Anthropology
Office Hours: Tuesdays 12:15-2:45 pm @ Tyler Annex 203 nmithlo@smith.edu 585-3683

Ethnographic Film Review Guidelines
Purpose

The ethnographic film review is an opportunity for students to organize their thoughts concerning each film’s intent, construction and effectiveness. The completed review will serve as a reference tool for use in the research paper and the final interview.

Organization

The review should run two pages (typed 1.5 or 2 spaced) - no longer. Students may refer to Heider’s “attributes of ethnographic film” from the text Ethnographic Film (1976) attached here, but should not feel constrained to adhere strictly to these guidelines. Other organizational approaches may be utilized as long as the following key concepts are addressed. Students should demonstrate: 1) a careful assessment of the content and technique of the film itself, 3) the relationship of the film to the course readings (this will become clearer as the semester progresses) 3) a contribution of the student’s own interpretation of the film’s theme and 4) a discussion of the film’s overall effectiveness as a means of conveying cultural information.

Content

The review should demonstrate both an understanding of the material presented from the intended ethnographic perspective as well as a critical perspective of these methods. Class discussions and additional readings (handed out in class and placed on reserve in the library) will illuminate the often-contradictory nature of representation. Students will be asked to identify what agency is empowered to make visual representations and what people are the subjects of such projects. The criteria of evaluation should be made evident in the review. In other words, statements such as “I liked the film, it was good” offer no evidence to the instructor of the student’s understanding of either ethnography or film. The instructor will look, rather for use of terms utilized in the text and class and for a solid reflexive understanding of the material.

Deadlines

Film reviews are due at class time of the week the film is assigned. Students may view the film independently or at the group Monday evening film session. Points will be subtracted for late submission of reviews. When more than one film is listed in the syllabus, students may choose which film to review – only one review is required weekly. The instructor will return the review to the student a week after submission with her written comments attached. I have found it effective for students to peer review each other’s reviews in class, so be prepared to share your work. Again, the weekly review process is intended to be a form of note taking and a discussion tool to prepare you for the more formal course paper submissions and the oral final exam.