Mediated Anthropology
Exam overview
Lecture 1: Introduction
Learning objectives:
Become acquainted with different forms of media and representations
Gain a broad orientation on the sub-disciplines of material culture, media anthropology,
visual anthropology, sensory ethnography and digital ethnography
Relate their theoretical and methodological perspectives to concrete case studies within
anthropology
Learn to reflect critically on the fact that all knowledge is mediated, and on the ubiquity of
media and how to approach it from an anthropological perspective and analysis.
We focus on how to mediated anthropological knowledge?
How do anthropologist produce ethnographic date through text, image, sounds, objects,
or otherwise
How does the use of different media to gather, process and present data shape
anthropological understandings
How does the production of data and formal outputs in effect create worlds
This course contains:
Lectures and content
Smartphone exercises
Group collaboration
Museum field site
It’s important to see the connection between these things to understand the problems the course will
teach us.
Smartphone ethnography
1. Graphic thinking
2. Deep listening
3. Auto exposure
4. Motion pictures
We rarely think of a smartphone as an ethnographic tool. But anthropologist use smartphones in
their fieldwork (pictures, videos, sound, GPS tracking apps, etc.). Also they share and communicate
with their research parties and informants via smartphone. So we have to take smartphone into
account.
1
,In this course we learn how to use the smartphone as a tool, but also gain critical reflection on the
smartphone. In this format you also learn to give and receive feedback.
Graphos
Graphos (from Greek γράφω, gráphō) = "to write," "to draw," or "to inscribe." It refers to the act of
marking a surface, whether through writing, drawing, engraving, or any form of visual inscription. It
refers to making marks on a surface, whether through writing, drawing, or even digital media.
So graphos is not only about the writing, but it has a strong relation to visual forms. (e.g. writing with
light example)
Tension
There are also tension in graphos.
You see on this picture for example the material
and bodily qualities of this interface. You see
fingerprints on the material screen. It suggest that
the embodied action, is creating a change and
transformation in the medium we are working in.
Other tensions:
Materiality / immateriality
visible / invisible
Intimacy – alienation
Different ways of knowing
There is no single "best" way of knowing. In the past, written ethnography was seen as superior, while
visual anthropology was often dismissed. However, different methods offer valuable insights, and
knowledge should be approached in multiple ways.
The International Baccalaureate (IB) framework identifies eight ways of knowing:
Memory
Emotion
Imagination
Reason
Faith
Sense Perception
Intuition
Languages
2
,Howard Gardner, an education scholar, had critique on the idea that intelligence is singular.
He proposed the idea of multiple intelligences.
The idea that intelligence is not singular but consists of multiple forms. Everyone possesses all
intelligences but may favour some over others. With effort, individuals can develop strengths in
different areas. You can in the basic, grow in every area.
Multimodal Knowledge
Knowledge should not be seen as an "either-or" approach (e.g., text vs. image) but as a diverse and
integrated system. Expanding the scope of knowledge includes multiple modes of understanding
beyond conventional academic methods.
Knowledge isn’t just text vs. image—it includes many ways of understanding the world.
Multimodal Anthropology
Human experience offers diverse ways of perceiving and knowing the world.
Therefore, there are different kinds of perception, which offer different kinds of knowing. (e.g.
indigenous knowledge don’t seem compatible with scientific knowledge, which creates problems.
There is work that find connection between sustainability, combining indigenous and scientific
knowledge).
Anthropologist thus need strategies for understanding AND presenting these different ways of
knowing.
This idea is how multimodal anthropology was born
Multimodal anthropology = an approach that uses different ways to study and share human
experiences. Instead of relying only on written words (like traditional ethnography), it combines
multiple forms of communication, such as images, videos, sound, performance, and digital media.
This approach helps capture diverse perspectives and makes research more engaging and accessible.
Book: Multimodality: An invitation
This is the first book about multimodal anthropology: Multimodality: An invitation
“A multimodal approach to teach anthropological research methods demands that we highlight
anthropology as a ‘ work in progress’ that traverses multiple, collaborative platforms. … recognizing
3
, the ever-present ‘messiness’ of the anthropological encounter, with the acknowledgment that much
of this complexity is rendered more and more transparent through the ubiquity of media practices”
(Multimodality: An invitation)
Multimodal Anthropology proved a new conceptual framework based on changing media practices
and media ecologies. These changes are linked to three main developments in the 21th century
anthropological research that recognized the vital role the discipline plays in the larger public:
a. Increased accessibility of media production by researcher and researched
(Before it was expensive to make a movie, now it is much easier, also due to the smartphone)
b. Greater emphasis on collaboration between researchers and research
c. Transformation of the professional responsibilities of researchers to researched populations
Multimodal ethnography
Our research process uses multiple methods of data collection and sharing, including field notes,
drawings, photos, social media, audio recordings, and transcriptions. It also extends to research
dissemination through ethnographic films, festivals, photo series, exhibitions, soundscapes,
installations, articles, and monographs.
Dissemination = the action of spreading information widely
Sometimes ethnography assumes data is already out there and we just have to find it. But in this
research we also creating new data, like audio files, and drawings, etc.
Multimodal ethnography goes beyond regular ethnography in various ways:
Expanding the Forms of Ethnography
Multimodality challenges the dominance of text-based representation while still valuing diverse
expressions of voice. They are not pushing text out, but embracing so many more things than just
text.
Enhancing Sensory Awareness in Research
Multimodality questions assumptions about clear observation while embracing the complex,
embodied nature of perception.
Recognizing the Role of Mediation
Multimodality questions direct experience while recognizing technology's impact on research.
Multimodality offers a more radical epistemological project than conventional understandings of
anthropology that is better conceptualized by shifting kaleidoscopic perspectives.
Kaleidoscopic perspectives = seeing things from multiple, shifting viewpoints, like looking through a
kaleidoscope. It suggests a dynamic, ever-changing way of understanding something, considering
different angles, experiences, or interpretations.
4
Exam overview
Lecture 1: Introduction
Learning objectives:
Become acquainted with different forms of media and representations
Gain a broad orientation on the sub-disciplines of material culture, media anthropology,
visual anthropology, sensory ethnography and digital ethnography
Relate their theoretical and methodological perspectives to concrete case studies within
anthropology
Learn to reflect critically on the fact that all knowledge is mediated, and on the ubiquity of
media and how to approach it from an anthropological perspective and analysis.
We focus on how to mediated anthropological knowledge?
How do anthropologist produce ethnographic date through text, image, sounds, objects,
or otherwise
How does the use of different media to gather, process and present data shape
anthropological understandings
How does the production of data and formal outputs in effect create worlds
This course contains:
Lectures and content
Smartphone exercises
Group collaboration
Museum field site
It’s important to see the connection between these things to understand the problems the course will
teach us.
Smartphone ethnography
1. Graphic thinking
2. Deep listening
3. Auto exposure
4. Motion pictures
We rarely think of a smartphone as an ethnographic tool. But anthropologist use smartphones in
their fieldwork (pictures, videos, sound, GPS tracking apps, etc.). Also they share and communicate
with their research parties and informants via smartphone. So we have to take smartphone into
account.
1
,In this course we learn how to use the smartphone as a tool, but also gain critical reflection on the
smartphone. In this format you also learn to give and receive feedback.
Graphos
Graphos (from Greek γράφω, gráphō) = "to write," "to draw," or "to inscribe." It refers to the act of
marking a surface, whether through writing, drawing, engraving, or any form of visual inscription. It
refers to making marks on a surface, whether through writing, drawing, or even digital media.
So graphos is not only about the writing, but it has a strong relation to visual forms. (e.g. writing with
light example)
Tension
There are also tension in graphos.
You see on this picture for example the material
and bodily qualities of this interface. You see
fingerprints on the material screen. It suggest that
the embodied action, is creating a change and
transformation in the medium we are working in.
Other tensions:
Materiality / immateriality
visible / invisible
Intimacy – alienation
Different ways of knowing
There is no single "best" way of knowing. In the past, written ethnography was seen as superior, while
visual anthropology was often dismissed. However, different methods offer valuable insights, and
knowledge should be approached in multiple ways.
The International Baccalaureate (IB) framework identifies eight ways of knowing:
Memory
Emotion
Imagination
Reason
Faith
Sense Perception
Intuition
Languages
2
,Howard Gardner, an education scholar, had critique on the idea that intelligence is singular.
He proposed the idea of multiple intelligences.
The idea that intelligence is not singular but consists of multiple forms. Everyone possesses all
intelligences but may favour some over others. With effort, individuals can develop strengths in
different areas. You can in the basic, grow in every area.
Multimodal Knowledge
Knowledge should not be seen as an "either-or" approach (e.g., text vs. image) but as a diverse and
integrated system. Expanding the scope of knowledge includes multiple modes of understanding
beyond conventional academic methods.
Knowledge isn’t just text vs. image—it includes many ways of understanding the world.
Multimodal Anthropology
Human experience offers diverse ways of perceiving and knowing the world.
Therefore, there are different kinds of perception, which offer different kinds of knowing. (e.g.
indigenous knowledge don’t seem compatible with scientific knowledge, which creates problems.
There is work that find connection between sustainability, combining indigenous and scientific
knowledge).
Anthropologist thus need strategies for understanding AND presenting these different ways of
knowing.
This idea is how multimodal anthropology was born
Multimodal anthropology = an approach that uses different ways to study and share human
experiences. Instead of relying only on written words (like traditional ethnography), it combines
multiple forms of communication, such as images, videos, sound, performance, and digital media.
This approach helps capture diverse perspectives and makes research more engaging and accessible.
Book: Multimodality: An invitation
This is the first book about multimodal anthropology: Multimodality: An invitation
“A multimodal approach to teach anthropological research methods demands that we highlight
anthropology as a ‘ work in progress’ that traverses multiple, collaborative platforms. … recognizing
3
, the ever-present ‘messiness’ of the anthropological encounter, with the acknowledgment that much
of this complexity is rendered more and more transparent through the ubiquity of media practices”
(Multimodality: An invitation)
Multimodal Anthropology proved a new conceptual framework based on changing media practices
and media ecologies. These changes are linked to three main developments in the 21th century
anthropological research that recognized the vital role the discipline plays in the larger public:
a. Increased accessibility of media production by researcher and researched
(Before it was expensive to make a movie, now it is much easier, also due to the smartphone)
b. Greater emphasis on collaboration between researchers and research
c. Transformation of the professional responsibilities of researchers to researched populations
Multimodal ethnography
Our research process uses multiple methods of data collection and sharing, including field notes,
drawings, photos, social media, audio recordings, and transcriptions. It also extends to research
dissemination through ethnographic films, festivals, photo series, exhibitions, soundscapes,
installations, articles, and monographs.
Dissemination = the action of spreading information widely
Sometimes ethnography assumes data is already out there and we just have to find it. But in this
research we also creating new data, like audio files, and drawings, etc.
Multimodal ethnography goes beyond regular ethnography in various ways:
Expanding the Forms of Ethnography
Multimodality challenges the dominance of text-based representation while still valuing diverse
expressions of voice. They are not pushing text out, but embracing so many more things than just
text.
Enhancing Sensory Awareness in Research
Multimodality questions assumptions about clear observation while embracing the complex,
embodied nature of perception.
Recognizing the Role of Mediation
Multimodality questions direct experience while recognizing technology's impact on research.
Multimodality offers a more radical epistemological project than conventional understandings of
anthropology that is better conceptualized by shifting kaleidoscopic perspectives.
Kaleidoscopic perspectives = seeing things from multiple, shifting viewpoints, like looking through a
kaleidoscope. It suggests a dynamic, ever-changing way of understanding something, considering
different angles, experiences, or interpretations.
4
