Information Package
baskent.edu.tr

Program of Radio, Television and Cinema

RTS317

IMAGE AND VISUAL ETHNOGRAPHY

Course Code
RTS317
Semester
-
Theory+Practice
3 + 0
ECTS
5
Course TypeElective Course
Course LevelBachelor's Degree
Year of Study-
Semester-
ECTS5
Name of Lecturer(s)
Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, the students;

  1. Utilize visual methodologies and field research techniques (such as fieldwork, participant observation, and visual interviewing) alongside the fundamental concepts and theories of ethnography in its visual, sensory, and digital forms in order to investigate social and cultural events and phenomena.
  2. Design a research/ethnography project based on static and moving images centered around a specific research question and in accordance with ethical standards.
  3. Transform empirical data gathered from fieldwork into an original visual product, such as an ethnographic film, documentary, photographic essay-that is theoretically and aesthetically coherent.
Mode of DeliveryFace to face
PrerequisitesNo
Recommended Optional Programme Components
Course DescriptionThis course is an interdisciplinary course that integrates image theories and ethnographic research methodologies within the framework of cinema and media practices. The course explores the historical, sensory, and digital transformation of ethnography through field techniques such as fieldwork, participant observation, and visual interviewing. Students learn to analyze social and cultural phenomena from both epistemological and aesthetic perspectives while designing their own visual research projects in accordance with ethical standards. Emphasizing theoretical and practical coherence from pre-production to post-production, the course aims to guide students in transforming field data into original visual outcomes, including ethnographic films, documentaries, photographic essays, or digital media formats.
Course Contents
WEEK TOPICS
1st Week Introduction to image, Visual Culture, and Ethnography
2nd Week Genealogy of Visual Anthropology and Ethnographic Film
3rd Week Sensory and Digital Ethnography: New Media and Cultural Representations
4th Week Visual Methodologies and Field Research Techniques
5th Week Participant Observation, Fieldwork, and Visual Interviewing
6th Week Visual methodologies for the Ethics in Visual Research:
7th Week Project Design: Developing Research Questions and Pre-Production
8th Week Midterm Exam: Presentation of Project Proposals: Onotologic and Epistemological Analysis
9th Week Aesthetics and Composition in Static and Moving Images
10th Week Fieldwork and Data Collection (Practical Week
11th Week Transforming Ethnographic Data into Visual Products: Form and Genre
12th Week Post-Production Processes I: Theoretical and Aesthetic Coherence in Editing
13th Week Post-Production Processes II: Image Processing, Color, and Sound Design
14th Week Final Project Presentations &Screening and Critical Review
Recommended or Required ReadingAtkinson, P., Coffey, A., Delamont, S., Lofland, J., & Lofland, L. (2023). Etnografi el kitabı (M. Topal, Çev.). Nobel Akademik Yayıncılık.
Banks, M., & Zeitlyn, D. (2015). Using visual methods in social research (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Berger, J. (2021). Görme biçimleri (Y. Salman, Çev.). Metis Yayınları.
Cox, R. & C. Wright (ed.). 2025. International Handbook of Visual Research Methods in Anthropology. Routledge
Grimshaw, A. (2001). The ethnographic eye: An introduction to new visual anthropology. Cambridge University Press.
Hockings, P. (1995). Principles of Visual Anthropology..)Mouton de Gruyter
Lechte, J. 2012. Genealogy and Ontology of the Western Image and its Digital Future. Routledge.
MacDougall, D. (2006). The corporeal image: Film, ethnography, and the senses. Princeton University Press.
Pink, S. (2015). Doing sensory ethnography (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications.
Pink, S. (2021). Doing visual ethnography (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Pink, S. (2022). Methods for Researching Automated Futures. Qualitative Inquiry, 28(7), 747-753.
Pink, S. (2022). Design Anthropological Filmmaking for Automated Futures. Qualitative Inquiry, 28(7), 781-797.
Rogoff, Irgit. 1998. Studying Visual Culture. The Visual Culture Reader. (ed. Nicholas Mirzoeff. Routledge. 14-26.
Rose, G. (2016). Visual methodologies: An introduction to researching with visual materials (4th ed.). SAGE .
Yavuz, O. (2020). Antropoloji ve fotoğraf: Yöntem ve temsil üzerine. Espas Kuramsal Yayınları.
Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods
  • Lecture
  • Discussion
  • Practice
  • Project
Assessment Methods and Criteria
Quantity Percentage (%)
Mid-term 1 20
Assignment 1 30
Practice 1 10
Total(%) 60
Contribution of In-term Studies to Overall Grade(%) 60
Contribution of Final Examination to Overall Grade(%) 40
Total(%) 100
ECTS Allocated Based on Student Workload
Activities Quantity Duration (Hour) Total Workload (Hour)
Midterm exam 1 2 2
Preparation for Quiz
Individual or group work
Preparation for Final exam 1 34 34
Course hours 14 3 42
Preparation for Midterm exam 1 20 20
Laboratory (including preparation)
Final exam 1 2 2
Homework 2 25 50
Total Work Load150
Total Work Load / 30 (h)5
ECTS Credit of the Course5
Language of InstructionTurkish
Work Placement(s)No

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