Paper Short Abstract:

Three students- one from Romania, one from USA, and one from Italy- get together to make a documentary film. Is it a joke? No, it's a joint course of visual anthropology. The paper shows how to engage students in anthropological field work, applying it in filmmaking, and in interdisciplinary teams.

Paper Abstract:

Assigning a long reading list for the anthropology class and expecting the students to read it each week and get critically involved with the texts was more than wishful thinking, in this world of images and digitalization. Even more so, for an “introduction to anthropology” class to film students. Trying to understand what would work in this new era, while remembering the very first years in this field when “being out there and see how people live” was the drive that kept us going at full speed, the teaching method shifted from “the tradition” of reading the established literature and discussions, to a more hands-in approach in the first part, and then, to using the practical tools outside the academic bubble, more precisely in producing documentary films in international and interdisciplinary student teams.

This paper presents the way in which students enrolled in documentary filmmaking master program at Babes-Bolayi University in Romania, practiced observation and participant observation, emphasizing experiential learning, to get familiar with specific anthropologic methods. Secondly, it describes the process of applying these methods in working in interdisciplinary teams with students from University of Wyoming (USA) and Universita Cattolica (Italy). The online visual anthropology class reunited these 3 cultures and perspectives as students produced short visual social essays, surpassing language, time zones and cultural barriers. The new method of teaching transcended the traditional classroom boundaries, made students employ anthropology tools in real-life projects and produce films reaching a large audience, outside the academic bubble.