Ethnofest & University of Amsterdam
Athens Summer School in Visual Ethnographic Practices
1 – 21 July 2024
Applicants:
Students from the last year BA, Master & 1st year PhD
in Social/Political Sciences, Humanities, Fine Arts & Film Studies
The Ethnofest – Athens Ethnographic Film Festival in collaboration with the University of Amsterdam (UvA) organises the intensive “Athens Summer School in Visual Ethnographic Practices”.
We are excited to welcome you to Athens from the 1st to the 21st of July.
About the School
Visual anthropology is becoming an almost indispensable discipline for anyone considering ethnographic research, visual analysis, studies of material culture, or critical engagements with cinema, photography and other forms of cultural display. By discussing the available methodological tools and critically reflecting on their application within urban contexts, we are focusing on visual ethnographic practices and ethnographic filmmaking.
During the three weeks of the school, students will learn how to use audio-visual media in ethnography in a rich and fascinating urban landscape and will produce short ethnographic films. A selection of these films will be presented in the special section called “Initiations” at the Ethnofest – Athens Ethnographic Film Festival in November of the same year.
The city of Athens is a great setting for participants to explore what camera based research can accomplish. In our summer school we focus on visual theory and the practical use of audio-visual means in the ethnographic process. In examining the use of visual methods, the courses will focus on both historical and contemporary examples of ethnographic film and photography. Τhe participants in the summer school will develop an expertise on the field of visual ethnographic research that is both theoretical and applied, which from our previous experience proves to be constructive for their future work and research projects.
Structure of the school
The school will run from Monday, July 1st 2024 until Sunday, July 21st 2024.
During these 3 weeks the students will be:
Attending lectures
Planning their small scale research
Conducting fieldwork
Filming
Editing
Students will work in teams of three. To facilitate research in the field, we will try to make sure that every team has at least one Greek speaking student. Each team is expected to deliver a 10 min short film by the end of the school. The teams will be decided by the tutors and will be announced on the first day of the programme.
The seminars and group meetings will run daily in a space situated at the centre of Athens, where the participants will be able to participate in the programme while taking inspiration from their urban surroundings. Field research will take place in selected areas and locations around the city. The seminars will provide students with a general framework of visual anthropology/ethnographic theory and methodology and with a basic knowledge of all the steps on ethnographic video production. At the same time the seminars will introduce them to contemporary approaches to field research in an urban setting. Students should expect to have one or two sessions per day (3h- 6h in total), while in parallel they will conduct fieldwork and filming and they will also obtain an overview of the current political and socio-economic situation in Greece, through lectures and guided walks.
In preparation for the seminars, it is recommended for the students to have read the literature before their arrival in Greece. A selection of key ethnographic films will be available to watch both in the seminar space and online.
Aim
The aim of the school is to provide the opportunity for students to experience filming in a highly diverse and multi-layered urban setting and obtain an overview of current debates and research topics in visual anthropology and ethnography. By learning and participating in the film production process, the students gain practical experience in a new context, develop their skills, learn how to work in a team, make new contacts and learn how to present their research subjects.
Method
During the seminar the students are expected to participate actively in all the courses and conduct a visual ethnographic field research. Their small-scale ethnographic projects could focus on life stories, popular beliefs and urban legends, material culture, performative practices (music, dance, street theatre, etc.), on specific neighbourhoods or social networks, but they could also expand to wider societal processes such as politics, gender issues, civil society organisations, migration or religion. Students should be able to come in contact with various people to discuss, interview and materialise their topics. Students will record and collect their material, which will be analysed and edited under the guidance of experienced staff in order to be presented/screened at the end of the school. The supervisors will guide and encourage students to create their storytelling following a clear idea and an ethnographically meaningful narrative plot. As mentioned before, during the three-week creative process and team-building, each group of students is expected to produce a short film of approximately 10 minutes.
Course requirements, language and evaluation
The course is open to students from last year of their BA, to Masters degree and first year PhD. All lectures will be given in English. The participants’ performance during courses, their final product (short film), and a one-pager presenting the film will be discussed at the end of the school. The student groups also have the opportunity to submit their films – with minor revisions and corrections – to the special section of Ethnofest – Athens Ethnographic Film Festival titled “Initiations”.
Courses period, dates and times
The school consists of 21 intensive days with lectures, field research, filming and editing. For the first half of the school term, classes are daily, including breaks. The rest of the time, students will be conducting fieldwork research, filming and editing under the supervision of their tutors.
Participation – application
Students can apply using this online application form.
The deadline for applications is Wednesday, 10th of April 2024.
Successful applicants will be notified from the 2nd till the 8th of May 2024 and will be expected to confirm their participation until Friday, 17th of May 2024. Otherwise, their position will be filled by the runners-up on the waiting list. The number of participating students is limited (max. 18 to 21 students).
Students are encouraged to bring their own equipment and laptops in order to make their training process smoother, however the summer school will provide in rotation cameras, audio equipment and laptops for editing per group of students. Please fill in the relevant section in the application form.
Costs and subsidies
The total cost of the course is 850€ for EU and international students. Greek students are eligible for a concession fee of 600€. Students are expected to cover their flights from their country of residence to Athens and back, their accommodation costs and their lunch and dinner costs. Upon confirmation of the participants, the selected students will be put in touch altogether to examine the prospect of sharing accommodation.
Important information for candidates applying to the Athens Summer School in Visual Ethnographic Practices
As the programme takes place during the summer season when the temperature in Greece is quite high, we kindly recommend the participants to keep it in mind while preparing for their stay. Lightweight articles of clothing, portable fans, thermos water bottles and hats would be of great use.
What to expect
Three intensive weeks of theory courses, stimulating discussions and critical engagement, introduction to technological media to facilitate your filmmaking process, consulting sessions with your tutors. Also walks and cultural visits. These days will be heavily loaded with the aim of giving the participants a complete sense of what visual ethnographic practices entail. For the smooth flow of the programme, it is essential to acknowledge the importance of team bonding, the cultivation of safe spaces for collective discussions, troubleshooting and horizontal decision-making in the working groups.
What not to expect
This is an ethnographic filmmaking programme. Our primary concern is for the participants to leave feeling richer in ethnographic documentary filmmaking and not necessarily acquiring technological novelties to create a highly professional visual product. Therefore, previous knowledge on technical knowledge (editing and shooting) is welcomed and will be considered when matching the team groups. The equipment used will complement these goals and is not our main priority.
Further announcements will follow at the end of the selection procedure around mid May.
For more information regarding the course, please contact:
Leda Dialyna, Summer School Coordinator,
email: [email protected], www.ethnofest.gr
Suggested Readings:
Grimshaw, A. and Ravetz, A. (2009). Observational Cinema: Anthropology, Film, and the Exploration of Social Life, Indiana University Press.
Lawrence, A. (2020). Filmmaking for Fieldwork. Manchester University Press.
MacDougall, David (2006). The Corporeal Image, film, ethnography, and the senses, Princeton University Press.
Varvantakis, C., Rozakou, K., Anastasiadi, I., Karathanasis, P. and Aivaliotis, K. (2019) “Editorial”, Journal of Anthropological Films, 3(02), p. e2902. doi: 10.15845/jaf.v3i02.2902.
