researching arts and society ii: experimentation€¦ · music, prose poetry, visual arts and...
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UtrechtUniversity|MAArtsandSociety|Block2/2017-2018|CourseCodeMCMV17002
ResearchingArtsandSocietyII:Experimentation
InstructorDr.EdwardAkintolaHubbard
OfficeHoursMon13:00-14:30,Muntstraat2A,Rm1.09
ClassesGroup1:Mon09:00-12:45,ParnassosCulturalCentre,Rm2.07*Group2:Wed09:00-12:45,ParnassosCulturalCentre,Rm2.07**PleasenotethatinWeek7therewillbeaguestlectureintheWednesdayslotonly.TherewillbenoGroup1(Monday)classmeetingforWeek7.
InterioroftheMuseodaLínguaPortuguesa,SãoPaulo,Brazil,2013.PhotographbyE.A.Hubbard
UtrechtUniversity|MAArtsandSociety|Block2/2017-2018|CourseCodeMCMV17002|ResearchingArtsandSocietyII:Experimentation
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EntryRestrictionThisisacompulsorycourseinthecurriculumoftheMAinArtsandSociety.Thecourseisclosedtostudentswhoarenotenrolledinthismaster’sprogram.
CourseDescriptionEthnographyisatermusedtodenotebothaspecificformofsocialresearchandthetextthatisproducedfromtheresultsofthisresearch.Followingalongempiricisttradition,theethnographerseekstodeeplyimmerseherselfinthesocialworldshestudies(evenifitisherown),attemptstomakesenseofthatworld,andproducesaninterpretiveaccountofherexperiencethatwouldbeofinteresttopeoplewhoarebothoutsidersandinsiderstothatworld.Usingdifferentmodesofobservation,analysisandrepresentation,theethnographermustdeciphercomplexsocialcodesandunderstandthemyriadcultural,political,economicanddiscursiveprocessesthatcompriseeverydaylife.Howmightethnographicpracticebeenrichedbyartisticpracticeandviceversa?Whatkindsoftextscouldbeproducedfromacombinationofethnographicresearchandartisticexperimentalism?Thislaboratorycoursegivesstudentstheopportunitytodevelopexperimentalmodesofconductingethnographicresearchandproducingethnographicaccountsoftheirfieldexperiences.Studentswillbothengagewiththeoreticalperspectivesonexperimentalethnographywhileconductingfield-basedprojectsthattranscendthetraditionalboundariesofethnographicpractice,usinginnovativemodesofdatagathering,encodingandrepresentation–e.g.,photography,digitalvideo,audiorecording,exposition,music,prosepoetry,visualartsandperformance.Classeswillconsistofreportsontheseevolvingresearch/artprojects,anongoingexchangeofideasabouttheresearchanddiscussionsofselectedreadingsandothermaterials.
ClassesClassesareonMondaysforGroup1andWednesdaysforGroup2,however,therearetwobreaksduringtheteachingblock(Weeks3and6)forthepurposeoffieldwork.InWeek7,therewillbenoMondayclassmeetingbutaguestlectureonWednesday,January10startingat09:30h.Eachclassmeetingisstructuredinthreesections.Thefirstsectionfordiscussionoftheassignedreadings,thesecondsectionforweeklyteampresentationsoftheirfindingsandexperimentalmethods,andathirdbriefsectionforteamplanningandbrainstormingfortheweeksahead.ThecoursewillculminateinfinalpresentationsonJanuary15and17.
AssignmentsandGradingClassattendance Pointdeductionforeachabsence(andforlateness).
Fieldvisits 20%ofthetotalgrade.Iftheblogusedbytheteamdoesnotallowfortimedanddatedposts,alogofeachteam’ssitevisitsshouldbesubmittedattheendoftheblock.
UtrechtUniversity|MAArtsandSociety|Block2/2017-2018|CourseCodeMCMV17002|ResearchingArtsandSocietyII:Experimentation
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Bloggedfieldnotes Ungraded.Blogswillbeusedexclusivelyforstudentstoposttheirfieldnoteswhichwillbebasedonweeklyassignments.Thesefieldnoteswillbeusedforthefinalresearchpaper(see“Researchpaper”below).Theblogshouldbeacollectivestoreofnotes,videos,photographsetc.
Reading 10%ofthetotalgrade.Studentswillsubmitonediscussionquestion/positionstatementintheweekpriortoclassbasedontheirreading(s)oftheassignedtexts(maximum100wordsperquestion/statement)–includingfortheguestlecture.Thisshouldreflectthoroughreadingofthetext(s)andshouldhavetopicalrelevance,sufficientintellectualdepth,andargumentativeusefulness.Questions/positionstatementsshouldbesubmittedonBlackboardeachweekby4pmonthedaybeforeclass.Thiswillbeanungradedweeklyassignmentbutwithapointdeductionifitisnotsubmittedorifitispoorlywrittenand/orconceptualized.
Conceptualization Duringclassinweeks2,4and5,eachteamwillspend20minutesdiscussingtheirindividualandcollectivebrainstormingandconceptualizationprocesses,methodsandfindingsusingtheirbloggedfieldnotesastheiraid.
Finalreport 40%ofthetotalgrade.Maximumof1500words(+/-10%).Eachstudentwillsubmitafinalwrittenreportontheirethnographicproject,discussinghowtheydesignedandconductedtheirresearch,specificmethodsemployedandacademicsourcesthatinformedandjustifiedtheirindividualchoicesofmethodorapproachand/orthatcontextualizetheirfindings.DueFriday,January19atmidnight.
Finalpresentation 30%ofthetotalgrade.Onthelastdayofclass(January15and17)eachteamwillgivea45-minutepresentation(+15minutesofQ&A)totheclassoftheirfindingsinwhateverformtheychoose.Thisgradewillbedeterminedbytheentireclass.
ExpectationsAttendanceandpunctualityatallclassesismandatory.Absencewillonlybeexcusedafterappropriatedocumentation(e.g.,doctor’scertificate,doctor’sletter,emailfromauniversityofficial,etc.)issubmitted.Allreadingmustbecompletedpriortotheclassmeetingforwhichitisassigned.
Allethnographicfieldnotes,includingtextandaudio-visualmaterialsmustbepostedontheteam’sblogbythefollowingweeklydeadlines:Group1:beforemidnightonSundaysandGroup2:beforemidnightonTuesdays
Weeklyteamfieldvisitsareexpected.Studentsmaychoosetoremainatthesamefieldsite(s)atwhichtheyconductedresearchduringBlock1ortheymaychooseadifferentfieldsite.Eachsitevisitwillbefollowedbyfieldnotesdocumentingeachstudent’svisit,thoughtsandobservations.
UtrechtUniversity|MAArtsandSociety|Block2/2017-2018|CourseCodeMCMV17002|ResearchingArtsandSocietyII:Experimentation
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CourseFeedbackandEvaluationTowardstheendofeachsemesterstudentsorganizeasessiontoevaluateanddiscusstheArtsandSocietycourses.Individualcoursesarealsoevaluatedthroughtheuniversity’sstandardizedonlineevaluationsystem.Ifyouexperienceanyproblemsorhavefeedbackduringthecourse,youmayalsofeelfreetospeakwiththecourseinstructor.
Week1|November13|November15
I:Genealogies
Reading:
§ JeanRouch,“TheCameraandMan”inCiné-Ethnography(ed.andtrans.StevenFeld)(Minneapolis:UniversityofMinnesotaPress,2006),pp.29-46.
Media:
§ NanookoftheNorth(1922),directedbyRobertFlaherty(excerpt)§ ManWithTheMovieCamera(1929),directedbyDzigaVertov(excerpt)§ AselectionofmusicvideosbydirectorsJimDemuth(forDjangoDjango),Sofia
Mattioli/CherisePayne(forJamiexx),andothers.
Week2|November20|November22
II:Intersections
Reading:
§ ArndSchneiderandChristopherWright,ed.,“TheChallengeofPractice,”inContemporaryArtandAnthropology,ed.ArndSchneiderandChristopherWright(NewYork:Berg,2006),pp.1-27.
Media:
§ SleepFuriously(2009),directedbyGideonKoppel(excerpt)§ Leviathan(2012),directedbyLucienCastaing-Taylor(excerpt)§ Somniloquies(2017),directedbyLucienCastaing-Taylor(excerpt)
Week3|November27|November29(noclass)
Thisweekisdedicatedtofieldwork.
UtrechtUniversity|MAArtsandSociety|Block2/2017-2018|CourseCodeMCMV17002|ResearchingArtsandSocietyII:Experimentation
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Week4|December4|December6
III:MethodsandApproaches
Readings:
§ TatsuoInagaki,“FieldworkasArtisticPractice,”inBetweenArtandAnthropology:ContemporaryEthnographicPractice,ed.ArndSchneiderandChristopherWright(London:Bloomsbury,2010),pp.75-82.
§ AmiriaSalmondandRosannaRaymond,“ShowandTell:WeavingaBasketofKnowledge,”inBetweenArtandAnthropology:ContemporaryEthnographicPractice,ed.ArndSchneiderandChristopherWright(London:Bloomsbury,2010),pp.95-102.
§ ArndSchneider,“Appropriations,”inContemporaryArtandAnthropology,ed.ArndSchneiderandChristopherWright(NewYork:Berg,2006),pp.29-51.
Media:
§ ChungkingExpress(1994),directedbyWongKar-wai(excerpt)
Week5|December11|December13
IV:Representations
Reading:
§ CatherineRussell,ExperimentalEthnography:TheWorkofFilmintheAgeofVideo(Durham:DukeUniversityPress,1999).Chapter2.
Media:
§ ForestofBliss(2009),directedRobertGardner§ LasHurdes(1933),directedbyLuisBuñuel.§ NightCries(1990),directedbyTraceyMoffatt.
Week6|December18|December20(noclass)
Thisweekisdedicatedtofieldwork.
WinterBreak
UtrechtUniversity|MAArtsandSociety|Block2/2017-2018|CourseCodeMCMV17002|ResearchingArtsandSocietyII:Experimentation
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Week7|January10V:GuestlecturerAndreaStultiens.AndreaStultiensteachesattheAcademyMinervainGroningenwhereshewasinvolvedinsettingupandrecentlystartedleadingaresearchgroupthatlooksattheuseofphotographyincross-disciplinaryandcross-culturalartisticpractices.Throughhercollaborativephotographicpractice,Stultiens’researchprojectinvestigatesthehistoricalandculturalaspectsofphotographicdocumentationwithinthegeographicalcontextoftheEastAfricancountryUganda.*Reading/Media:
www.hipuganda.org(particularlytheblogsection)www.facebook.com/hipuganda*www.andreastultiens.nl
Week8|January15|January17IV:FinaleNoreadingassigned.Withtheaidoftheteamblogs,eachteamwillgiveanextensivepresentationinwhateverformtheywish.Maximum45minutes+5minutesofQ&A.
RecommendedReadings§ ArndSchneiderandChristopherWright,ed.,“BetweenArtandAnthropology,”in
BetweenArtandAnthropology:ContemporaryEthnographicPractice,ed.ArndSchneiderandChristopherWright(London:Bloomsbury,2010).
§ MargaretMead,VisualAnthropologyinaDisciplineofWords,”inPrinciplesofVisualAnthropology(3rdedition),ed.PaulHockings(Berlin:MoutondeGruyter,2003).
§ StevenTyler,“PostmodernEthnography:FromDocumentoftheOcculttoOccultDocument,”inWritingCulture:ThePoeticsandPoliticsofEthnography,ed.JamesCliffordandGeorgeE.Marcus(Berkeley:UniversityofCaliforniaPress,1986).
§ E.RichardSorensonandAllisonJablonko,“ResearchFilmingofNaturallyOccurring
Phenomena:BasicStrategies,”inPrinciplesofVisualAnthropology(3rdedition),ed.PaulHockings(Berlin:MoutondeGruyter,2003).
§ MarcAugé,Non-Spaces:AnIntroductiontoSupermodernity(NewYork:Verso,2009).
EspeciallyChapter3(“FromPlacestoNon-Places”),75-115.§ RobertWillim,“OutofHand:ReflectionsonElsewhereness,”inAnthropologyandArt
Practice,ed.ArndSchneiderandChristopherWright(London:Bloomsbury,2013).