Julie Y. Chu

22530/32530.  Ethnographic Film. This seminar explores ethnographic film as a genre for representing "reality," anthropological knowledge and cultural lives.  We will examine how ethnographic film emerged in a particular intellectual and political economic context as well as how subsequent conceptual and formal innovations have shaped the genre.  We will also consider social responses to ethnographic film in terms of 1) the contexts for producing and circulating these works, 2) the ethical and political concerns raised by cross-cultural representation and 3) the development of indigenous media and other practices in conversation with ethnographic film.  Throughout the course, we will situate ethnographic film within the larger project for representing "culture," addressing the status of ethnographic film in relation to other documentary practices including written ethnography, museum exhibitions and documentary film.