Rethinking visual anthropology

Marcus Banks, Howard Morphy

For many years the field of visual anthropology has been dominated by a focus on the production and study of ethnographic film, leading many anthropologists to dismiss it as being of little importance to their work. This book shows that the scope of visual anthropology is far broader, encompassing the analysis of still photography, television, electronic representation, art, ritual and material culture. Since anthropology involves the representation of one culture or segment of society to another, the authors argue, an understanding of the nature of representational processes across cultures is essential. This book brings together essays by leading anthropologists that cover the entire range of visual representation, from Balinese television to computer software manuals. Contributors discuss the anthropology of art, the study of landscape, the anthropology of ritual, the...

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