ANTHRO 135
Visual Anthropology: Documentary Photography
Description: (Formerly numbered 133P.) Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour (when scheduled). Photographs in anthropology serve many purposes: as primary data, illustrations of words in books, documentation for disappearing cultures, evidence of fieldwork, material objects for museum exhibitions, and even works of art. Topics include relationships between subject and treatment of image, between art photography and ethnographic documentation, role of museum photograph and caption, social practice of taking pictures, and case study on photographing Middle East and North Africa. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 4.0
Units: 4.0
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Most Helpful Review
Do not take Gupta if possible. He cares so little about teaching or students. He told us he would not respond to questions via email. The only grades are the midterm and the final, and the class is curved. This may sound good to a lot of people, but in reality the questions were deliberately designed to trick you - with choices such as "A, B, C, A & B, A & C". The questions were often framed in an unclear manner, but you are not allowed to ask clarifying questions. He is a completely ineffective teacher and does not implement any student - focuses teaching methods.
Do not take Gupta if possible. He cares so little about teaching or students. He told us he would not respond to questions via email. The only grades are the midterm and the final, and the class is curved. This may sound good to a lot of people, but in reality the questions were deliberately designed to trick you - with choices such as "A, B, C, A & B, A & C". The questions were often framed in an unclear manner, but you are not allowed to ask clarifying questions. He is a completely ineffective teacher and does not implement any student - focuses teaching methods.
Most Helpful Review
The class was fascinating. I learned quite a bit about the field of visual anthropology and the history of photography. Slyomovics gives you a lot of freedom to engage with the readings and coursework and express your ideas through all of her assignments. She allows creativity and doesn't force students into any real prescribed formats for her class. She is, however, a stickler for correct grammar, spelling, and citations. Plan ahead to attend her office hours, even if you are like me and had to skip part of another class to do so. It will save you time at the end of the quarter. We ended up waiting in an hour long line to get her to sign off on our project proposals (mandatory). BTW, get your proposal signed during office hours ahead of time to save yourself the headache. Slyomovics arranges her class throughout the quarter by themes and this helps to see broader contexts. All of the readings and websites and suggested field trips are useful for the exams and papers. If you are a lazy ass, you will most likely still get an OK grade, but if you actually care about learning and put some effort into the class and the materials, you will gain a ton of valuable knowledge... Its one of those classes where its totally up to you.
The class was fascinating. I learned quite a bit about the field of visual anthropology and the history of photography. Slyomovics gives you a lot of freedom to engage with the readings and coursework and express your ideas through all of her assignments. She allows creativity and doesn't force students into any real prescribed formats for her class. She is, however, a stickler for correct grammar, spelling, and citations. Plan ahead to attend her office hours, even if you are like me and had to skip part of another class to do so. It will save you time at the end of the quarter. We ended up waiting in an hour long line to get her to sign off on our project proposals (mandatory). BTW, get your proposal signed during office hours ahead of time to save yourself the headache. Slyomovics arranges her class throughout the quarter by themes and this helps to see broader contexts. All of the readings and websites and suggested field trips are useful for the exams and papers. If you are a lazy ass, you will most likely still get an OK grade, but if you actually care about learning and put some effort into the class and the materials, you will gain a ton of valuable knowledge... Its one of those classes where its totally up to you.
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