Return to: Programs A-Z

The University of South Carolina announces a Graduate Certificate in Visual Anthropology for graduate students enrolled in M.A. or Ph.D. programs in Media Arts and Anthropology but which also serves graduate students in such areas as Education, the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, as well as Sociology and Geography. The Certificate introduces these graduate students to the intellectual understanding (anthropology and visual theories) and the hands-on practical skills (shooting and editing) necessary to make anthropologically-informed ethnographic (documentary) films or videos, and/or to effectively incorporate visuals (stills/film/video) into their research. The director of the Program is in Anthropology, and works with the relevant faculty in Anthropology and Media Arts. Students completing this Certificate will have a skill that complements but does not replace the fieldwork/research methods requirements already in place for the various graduate programs.

Visual Anthropology is a very broad category including both ethnographic (documentary) film and various research uses of visuals (mainly these days video and still photography). The wide interest in Visual Anthropology is evidenced by several long-standing scholarly organizations: the Society for Visual Anthropology (a Section of the American Anthropological Association), the International Commission for Visual Anthropology, and the closely-related International Visual Sociology Association, all of which publish journals.

The faculty involved include:

Media Arts:

Karla Berry, Associate Professor and Area Coordinator, Media Arts. Past President, University Film and Video Association. Documentary film and video artist with current research in digital and wireless new media art.

Laura Kissell, Associate Professor, Media Arts. Documentary film and video artist with current research in the documentation of cultural/social/political landscapes.

Anthropology:

Joanna Casey, Associate Professor. Archaeology. Video production in ethno-archaeology (Ghana).

Jennifer Reynolds, Assistant Professor. Linguistic Anthropology. Uses of video in linguistic research with Mayans.

Ann E. Kingsolver, Associate Professor. Cultural Anthropology. Ethnographic film.

Languages, Literatures, and Cultures:

A number of faculty teach 500 and 700-level culture and film courses in several different languages.

Film Studies:

There is a new Film Studies Program at USC, which offers FILM 566, Topics in American Film; FILM 597, Comparative Studies in Film; and FILM 598, Topics in World Film. Susan Courtney, Associate Professor of English and Film Studies, directs the program.

Certificate Requirements (18 Hours)

We offer a flexible mix of courses. Specific programs are worked out between the students and their committees, composed of three faculty from at least two units (Anthropology and Media Arts). Eighteen hours of course work are required for the Certificate, nine of which must be at the 700 level. Sample course programs: