“Uncommon Courses” is an irregular series from The Conversation US that presents unconventional teaching approaches.
Course title:
Multimodal Anthropology
How did the thought for the course come about?
“Multimodal” simply means using greater than just academic texts to present research results.
My first multimodal science project was a 3rd grade project on humpback whales, led by a Vinyl LP recording of their “songs” that National Geographic sent to its subscribers.
In addition to my written report, I included the whale footage and photos from National Geographic. Then I added a beloved piece of fabric culture by tying the project along with white shoelaces depicting baby blue whales.
Today, as an anthropologist, I exploit fiction, plays, poetry, sound and film – amongst other media – to present my findings. I even have often needed to defend my methods to other academics, but students tell me they love them and wish to do the identical.
What does the course examine?
We explore non-traditional ways of presenting research findings and discuss why a specific form may or will not be appropriate for a specific topic. For example, a student might Sound of bombs for a research presentation in regards to the war, as a substitute of showing violent images, can humiliate the victims. For a presentation on Iranian underground theatre, fictional story about secret rehearsals and relationshipsas a substitute of a scientific book, may very well be used to guard the privacy of the themes.
Students learn basic ethnographic research methods, including remark and interviews. We take research trips around campus to look at, take notes, and ask questions. When they select the subject of their final research projects, they take the info they collected in a given week and present it in quite a lot of formats, including film, poetry, and opinion pieces.
Why is that this course relevant now?
Practicing multimodal anthropology helps students discover their very own strengths and construct their confidence. Not everyone can write well, but some are gifted photographers. Educators have lost the interest of talented students by consistently demanding that research findings at all times be presented in term papers.
It also makes the fabric more accessible to a bigger and more diverse audience. Take sound, for instance – and even audio books. The sound of humpback whales or melting glaciers allows people to experience a spot that the majority people can't actually visit. Audio books or spoken word projects allow readers with visual impairments and reading difficulties to access the research.
What is a crucial lesson from the course?
There isn’t only one option to do anything. Students will succeed and make a difference on the planet by playing to their strengths and collaborating with their peers reasonably than competing. What matters isn’t their test scores or final grades, but reasonably the experiences they’ve over time with their projects and with one another.
What materials does the course contain?
I exploit my very own work to elucidate the means of multimodal anthropology – how and why I did what I did and whether it was successful. I also invite other guest lecturers, including multimedia artists Kurosh ValaNejadwhich tells the story of the American-led coup in Iran in 1953 right into a video game.
I’m currently developing my very own multimodal curriculum in the shape of a criminal offense series, with each book exploring a unique way of presenting research findings. My first book, “Death in a nutshell: An anthropological crime novel“, examines visual anthropology – the study of images in culture and the usage of images to represent culture – and dyslexia.
What does the course prepare students for?
The course prepares students to practice and find out about various research methods. Even in the event that they never write one other poem, studying poetry as an anthropologist sharpens their descriptive skills. It also results in useful discussions, resembling whether poetry, as Plato claimsis simply too beautiful, tempting, and potentially misleading to be utilized in what people like to think about as objective science.
image credit : theconversation.com