First semester    

Ethnographic Documentary (30 credits)

Practical film-making, directing, camera work and editing: working in teams all students make 3 short films (1) a social or technical process film, (2) a testimony film, and (3) an event film. Compulsory Course.  

Screening Culture (15 credits)    

Weekly lectures and film screenings on the place of film in anthropology and the theory and history of ethnographic film and film-making. Core Course.  

Anthropology of Vision, Memory and the Senses (15 credits)   

Weekly lectures, screenings and workshops, on the anthropology of the senses and memory. Core Course.  

Or, Key Approaches to Anthropology (15 credits)    

A foundation module on Social Anthropology for those without anthropological background.   

Second semester   

Beyond Observational Cinema (30 credits)    

Further film training delivered through lectures and practical workshops. Compulsory Course.  

Documentary and Sensory Media  (15 credits)    

Practice as Research, delivered through lectures, practical workshops and field trips. Compulsory Course.   

Images, Texts, Fieldwork (15 Credits)

Practical research course in urban anthropology that explores traditional and experiential approaches and methods to anthropological research. Compulsory Course.

Course unit details
Semester one involves:
intensive practical training in film-making and ethnographic documentary;
courses on visual and sensory perception;
theories and history of anthropological and ethnographic films; and
the anthropology of sound;
students with little or no anthropological background will also take introductory courses in anthropology where necessary.
In semester two, you will engage in:

alternative modes of ethnographic film-making;
courses and workshops in photography, sensory ethnography and sound recording and other art based and experimental forms;
anthropological and ethnographic methods in preparation of students' summer research projects.
Throughout the year, screenings and additional workshops are conducted by visiting professionals, including film-makers, photographers and sound recordists.

Over the summer, you will engage in an original piece of ethnographic and anthropological research. The potential for research projects is wide-ranging, both in terms of location and theme, and in any one year may focus on diverse subjects, such as:

burlesque dancing in the UK;
education in China;
Balkan music;
Brazilian favelas;
Palestinian identity;
US summer camps;
gay cruising in Manchester;
life in Latin American prisons;
migration across the Sahara;
Congolese fashion; and
East African nomads.