Current Issue: Volume 25 Issue 1 (Spring 2009)
For complete listing of VAR 25 (1) contents click here.

Articles

What: Practical Matters, a transdisciplinary multimedia journal of religious practices and practical theology (www.practicalmattersjournal.org)
Submissions Deadline for the Ethnography & Theology issue: September 15, 2009.

Call for Multimedia Submissions on the Topics of Ethnography and Theology, Anthropology and Religion

Practical Matters invites multimedia submissions in the categories and genres of film, video, soundscape, new media, photography, art, and performance pieces (broadly construed) that engage the topics of ethnography, ethnography and theology, and anthropology of religion for an upcoming issue on the theme of Ethnography and Theology. This issue will explore the numerous intersections of ethnography, theology, and the study of religion. We are also interested in work that examines these themes in relation to pedagogy and religious practices. The issue will explore questions such as the following:

• How do new approaches such as visual ethnography and web-based multimedia possess the potential to deepen and elevate the doing of ethnographies that investigate “religious” phenomena and theological questions?
• Can the questions and discourses of theology and religious studies enrich the doing and creating of ethnography across disciplinary boundaries? 
• What are the contributions of ethnographic fieldwork to the study of religion, ritual, and theology?
• What emerges through the teaching of ethnographic tools to students of theology and religion?

Read more »

The Department of Communication and Culture at Indiana University-Bloomington has been authorized to hire a Visiting Assistant Professor for the 2009-2010 academic year (August 2009-May 2010) to teach courses in digital media and television studies. We invite candidates from a wide range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary backgrounds and encourage applicants whose teaching and research interests are grounded in critical humanities scholarship concerning the cultural, political, and communicative aspects of digital game studies. Ph.D. and teaching experience required.  Applications will be reviewed starting May 21, 2009.  Indiana University is an equal opportunity employer.

Send inquiries, CV, and names of three references to:

Gregory A. Waller
Chair, Department of Communication and Culture
gwaller@indiana.edu

Calling All Filmmakers!

When: Oct 2nd-6th, 2009
Entry submission deadline: June 10th, 2009

TIEFF is organized by the Taiwan Association of Visual Ethnography, a non-profit organization dedicated to greater public awareness of documentary and ethnographic films, and co-organized by the Institute of Ethnology at the Academia Sinica of Taiwan. TIEFF is more than a venue for screening films and videos; it is also a forum for education, discussion, and exchange. TIEFF considers every film selected to be equally valuable; therefore, there is no competition section in the event.

The biennial’s 5th edition, “Body and Soul”, will invite curious audience to a multi-cultural survey of medical/alternative healing practices. Possible topics that candidate films draw attention to can include, but are not limited to: Health care in the developing world / Indigenous, traditional, and alternative healing practices / Epidemics and infectious disease, suffering and care, etc. In creating the theme, the festival seeks stories and examples all around the world to cultivate common understanding of issues on physical and mental health beyond the confines of traditional medicines, in order to encompass heterogeneous, physical and spiritual practices which shape health care around the world. Read more »

Message from Faye Ginsburg (NYU) via Media Anthropology Network mailing list:

Hi all,

In Media Res, a fantastic project  dedicated to experimenting with collaborative, multi-modal forms of online scholarship, has dedicated this week to *work on indigenous media,* and comments from scholar working in the field are most welcome. Great chance for people on this list to add their ideas and work to the mix but you need to comment by the end of this week. The Indigenous Media inaugurated by my post on Monday on Isuma TV which will show up through the link below.  Each day this week, a different scholar curates a 30-second to 3-minute video clip/visual image slideshow accompanied by a 300-350-word impressionistic response. Check them out. If you can, take a minute or two to write some comments — a great way to link people to your work as well — and to demonstrate that this is an exciting area of work based on the comments it provokes. Here is the link

http://mediacommons.futureofthebook.org/imr/theme-week/2009/19/indigenous-media-may-4-8-2009

In order to respond, you must be logged in which just takes a minute or two. Please feel free to cross-promote this event on any blogs, message boards, social networking sites or other spaces you frequent.

Best,

Faye

Deadline: July 30, 2009
More Information: http://antipoda.uniandes.edu.co

(click on image for higher resolution poster)

What: Taiwan International Ethnographic Film Festival
Where: Taipei, Taiwan
When: October 2-6, 2009
Entry Submission Deadline: June 10th, 2009

Since launching Asia’s first international ethnographic film festival in 2001, the biennial Taiwan International Ethnographic Film Festival (TIEFF) has established itself as one of the world’s foremost venues for documentary and ethnographic films from around the world. This year, from October 2nd till the 6th, the 5th TIEFF will be held in Taipei, Taiwan. This year’s theme, “body and soul” seeks to explore biomedical and alternative healing practices from a cross cultural perspective. Possible topics for inclusion include, but are not limited to: health care in the developing world, indigenous, traditional, and alternative healing practices, epidemics and infectious disease, suffering and care, etc. In choosing the theme “body and soul” the festival seeks to expand our understanding of issues pertaining to physical and mental health beyond the confines of traditional biomedicine in order to encompass the heterogeneous bodily and spiritual practices which shape health care around the world.

In addition to films submitted under the central theme, “Body and Soul” (which is open to all films fitting the theme, regardless of when they were made), TIEFF also welcomes recently completed films, on any topic, made within the past two years (2007-2009), for submission to its “New Vision” section.
TIEFF has become an important fixture in Taiwan’s cultural and intellectual life, attracting large audiences of filmgoers, teachers, and students every two years. TIEFF is organized by the Taiwan Association of

Visual Ethnography, a non-profit organization dedicated to greater public awareness of documentary and ethnographic films, and co-organized by the Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica, Taiwan. TIEFF is more than a venue for screening films and videos, it is also a forum for learning, discussion and the exchange of ideas. TIEFF considers every film selected to be an equally valuable; accordingly, there is no competition section. All film submissions are handled through our webiste:

http://www.tieff.sinica.edu.tw

Entry deadline: June 10th, 2009

What: International Conference and PhD Workshop on Transcultural Montage
Where: Moesgaard Estate, University of Aarhus, DK
When: August 24 to 26, 2009; Workshop August 27, 209
Abstract Submission Deadline: May 1, 2009

I am kino-eye. I am a builder. I have placed you, whom I’ve created today, in an extraordinary room which did not exist until just now when I also created it.
Dziga Vertov, 1923

Guest speakers:

•  Professor George Marcus, University of California

•  Professor Bruce Kapferer, University of Bergen

•  Dr. Anna Grimshaw, Emory University

•  Peter Crawford, University of Tromsø

•  Jakob Høgel, Danish Film Institute

•  Dr. Stuart McLean, University of Minnesota

•  Professor Catherine Russell, Concordia University

This conference focuses on the topic of montage and its possibilities and limitations for moving beyond realist forms of representation in anthropology. In its conventional usage, montage refers to the juxtaposition of shots in the production of film. However, in addition to ethnographic film, this conference also addresses the use of montage in other forms of anthropological communication, such as writing, exhibition making, photography, and video installation. Read more »

Full details can be found online at http://www.usc.edu/dept/elab/anth/mav.html

The Center for Visual Anthropology at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles is happy to announce a new one-year MA in Visual Anthropology. Continuing the tradition of ethnographic documentary production that the Center has had for 25 years (with over 60 documentaries produced by students, and over 20 by faculty), this new program updates its format by moving into the digital age.

The new Masters Program is open to USC undergraduates majoring in Visual Anthropology and to students coming from any other institution who have a background in Visual Anthropology, ethnographic documentary production or cross-cultural visual studies.  Read more »