Visual anthropology : a guide to library resources
Contents:
Related library guides which may be helpful:
Australian & international film resources
Media Studies
Popular Culture
Starting Points
The guide to Anthropology dictionaries/encyclopedias will help if you need explanations of anthropological terminology or theory.
To find overviews/introductory texts on visual anthropology topics try the following:
Corporeal image : film, ethnography, and the senses (2006) [print]
[Explores the relations between photographic images and the human body which leads the author to a critique of the history of visual anthropology and a proposed set of new principles]
Digital anthropology (2005) [electronic]
[Published as no. 116 of the journal Media International Australia, this special issue maps out some of the directions in which the discipline is going. Also available in print format]
Doing visual ethnography (2001) [print]
[Explores the use and potential of photography, video and hypermedia in ethnographic and social research. A book review is linked here]
Ethnographic film (rev. ed. 2006) [print]
[Comprehensive introduction to this field of visual anthropology]
Future of visual anthropology: engaging the senses (2006) [print]
[Examines recent developments within the field and a way forward for the subdiscipline in the twenty-first century]
Making Visible: Objects, Images, and Archives in Visual Anthropology [electronic]
[A review essay which raises the question of whether visual anthropology is a united field]
Principles of visual anthropology (1995) [print]
[Covers ethnographic filming and its relations with cinema and television; applications of filming to anthropological research; the uses of still photography, archives, and videotape]
Twenty years of visual anthropology (2008) [electronic]
[Content analysis of the first 20 volumes of the journal Visual Anthropology]
Visual anthropology (1996) [web access]
[First published in the Encyclopedia of Cultural Anthropology (1996)
Visual anthropology is dead: long live visual anthropology (1998) [electronic]
[A review essay on the meaning of visual anthropology]
Visual anthropology : photography as a research method (1986) [print & electronic]
[Both a fieldwork manual and a text on visual anthropology]
Visual culture reader (2002) [print]
[Key writings covering a wealth of visual forms including photography, painting, sculpture, fashion, advertising, television, cinema and digital culture]
Visual culture: the reader (1999) [print]
[Provides a resource of over 30 key statements from a wide range of disciplines]
Visualizing anthropology [electronic]
[Brings together a range of perspectives anchored in practice, which map experiments in the forms and techniques of visual enquiry. A book review is linked here]
Working images: visual research and representation in ethnography (2004) [print]
[An exploration on how old and new visual media can be integrated into contemporary forms of research and representation. A book review is linked here]
Finding Books Using The Library Catalogue
Books can be found by searching the library catalogue. The following subject heading searches may be useful starting points:
visual anthropology
motion pictures in ethnology
photography in ethnology
sound recordings in ethnology
documentary films
But keyword searching is probably the best way of identifying material, and your results will be maximised by using keyword searching techniques such as truncation and Boolean searching, and by incorporating subject headings into your search where appropriate. Here are some examples on how to construct searches:
- "visual anthropology"
"visual communication" and (science or technology) - photograph? and (ethnolog? or anthropolog? or ethnograph?)
- (filmmaking or "film-making") and (ethnolog? or anthropolog? or ethnograph?)
Finding Journal Articles Using Databases
Journal articles can be found through the database Film and television literature index and through other appropriate databases listed in the Databases for Anthropology guide.
Another more specialised source is Documentary and ethnographic film: a short bibliography [web access] which provides references for many ethnographic film-makers
Web Resources
The following are starting points for Web resources for Visual Anthropology
- Nordic Anthropological Film Association
- Society for Visual Anthropology
- Ur-List: Web Resources for Visual Anthropology
- Visual Anthropology.net
Visual Anthropology Network (European Association of Social Anthropologists)
- WWW Virtual library: Visual anthropology
Last update: 18 June 2009 Helen Attar
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