Looking at the Other: Photography and Anthropology
Delivery Mode
on campus
Level
6
ECTS
4
Overview
This course challenges us to think about the relationship between anthropology and photography, linking theory and practice, past and present. We start from the parallel histories of both disciplines, associated with the implementation of colonialism and capitalism since the 19th century, to launch a critical programme based on post-colonial and decolonial theories that make it possible to identify the visual forms of this coloniality and the mechanisms of its contemporary reproduction. We will also understand how anthropology has influenced the studies and practices of photography throughout its two parallel histories in the field of authorial expression. The aim is to launch a critical programme that links each topic with the activity of contemporary artists who work specifically on post-colonial themes and use photographic or videographic expression in their work. We will pay particular attention to the Portuguese context. The course proposes personal and critical practical work.
What You'll Learn
Deepen knowledge of the history of photography and the history of Portuguese photography, in its connection with anthropology; Develop critical skills on the social and political implications of the photographic medium; be able to take a critical stance on cultural policies relating to archive images; become familiar with the contemporary panorama of photography and art that debates the themes of colonialism and decolonisation (of minds, images, policies, actions and processes). Understand in practice the methods of anthropology as a way of doing things and the close relationship they establish with contemporary practices linked to the image.